The House Wins
by Suicidal Mickey Mouse
Summary: A casino in Vegas hires Frank and Joe to investigate one of its biggest clients. Meanwhile, Nancy and Bess are in Vegas checking out the disappearance of an old friend. Obviously, their paths will cross. Nancy/Frank.
1. The Way You Look Tonight

Disclaimer: I do not own Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them. I also do not own or am affiliated with any pop culture references that I may choose to include.

Author's Notes: This is just an idea that I've had swirling about in my head ever since I first got addicted to watching poker on TV. I'd say the characterization is closer to the 70's television show more than the books, although the story itself is modern.

**The Way You Look Tonight**

"Ah...hotel sweet hotel."

Frank Hardy rolled his eyes as his younger brother flopped down across his bed in their hotel room. "Don't get too comfortable," he warned, opening his suitcase. He started to unpack his clothing, and to put it away in one of the room's dressers. "We have to get down to that tournament. It starts in less than an hour. And you still have to change."

Joe sat back up, and glanced down at his t-shirt and athletic shorts. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing now?"

"We're supposed to look like over-privileged college playboys. You look like an over-partied athlete who just rolled out of bed."

"Well, we don't all travel in our non-wrinkle oxfords." Joe shot back. He got up, somewhat begrudgingly, from the bed. It had been particularly comfortable, and he didn't really want to change.

Frank gave his brother a pointed look. "If that's your way of saying that I need to lighten up then--,"

"Now who would possibly say that? You're wearing jeans. You look like you're ready to party." Joe teased.

"Just change, will you? We've only really got one chance to make this work, and considering the trouble that Mr. Bergeron went to get us out here we should probably try and see that it does work out."

"Frank, chill out. We're playing poker."

"To get invited to a private game that may or may not be a cover for an unspecified illegal activity that we then have to uncover."

"I know why Mr. Bergeron hired us, Frank." Joe pulled out a new set of clothing from his suitcase. "And I think you're the one who's more likely to blow it. You're too tense. These guys will peg you about a minute after you sit down at the table."

Frank closed the dresser drawer. "First of all, you and I both know that unless you're at a table filled with women that you can flirt with and distract, I'm the better poker player. Second, I'm not sure that you're aware, but the guy we're investigating is bad news. Even if he's not guilty of anything at this casino, if he busts us it's not exactly going to be free drinks and pleasant walks down the strip. And third," he glanced at the clothes Joe had pulled out, "you can't wear khakis with that shirt. The black stripe is too strong."

"First of all," Joe removed his shirt, and started to change. "I resent that. I'm an excellent poker player. I just can't beat you because you know me too well."

"And yet you can never tell when I'm bluffing." Frank grinned. "I should probably be offended. It's like you don't know me at all."

Joe ignored Frank's jesting. "Second of all, I'm well aware of the fact that if we get caught by Eckhart he'll have his goons take us out back and break our legs or whatever it is that these Vegas gangsters do nowadays. I got the lecture from dad too. And third, the black stripe is not too strong. These are light khakis, not a dark brown and I'm wearing black shoes so it balances out."

"That does not excuse the fact that--," Frank cut himself off and shook his head. "Never mind, the point is we need to be on the same page tonight. We need to be on the top of our games. Ideally, both of us will get invited to that private game, but at least one of us has to."

"I thought Bergeron was gonna rig our table."

Frank shook his head. "The arrangements got flipped around. We're at different tables, and he could only rig one. I don't know which one it is, so no screwing around."

"Relax Frank. I will be completely focused on the game, and monitoring Eckhart. I won't even let myself get distracted when those cute cocktail waitresses walk by."

"That reminds me, no drinking."

"You are just determined to take all the fun out of this, aren't you? Here we are in Las Vegas, in a comped five-star suite with everything at our fingertips, at no cost to us mind you, about to play in a Texas Hold'Em tournament, and all you can do is lecture."

"You'll thank me when we get on the plane back home with our dignity, and all of our bones in tact."

**NDHB**

Nancy Drew dabbed at her lips with a tissue. The red of her lipstick was slightly too dark for her normal tastes, but she had applied it anyways; she wasn't there to be herself and the color of "Ravishing Red" was perfect for her purposes. "Bess, could you bring me the earrings that I put on the bedside table please?" She called out to the main portion of the room.

Bess entered the small bathroom and handed over a pair of dangling silver earrings. "Remind me again why you feel the need to do this?"

"Because," Nancy flipped her hair over one shoulder in order to put one of the earrings in, "I finally have a lead in Josie's disappearance. Everything leads to this guy, Eckhart."

"And what, you're just going to walk up to him and say, 'Hi, did you kidnap Josie Levi?'" Bess crossed her arms over her chest.

Nancy's hair went over her other shoulder. "I'm going to go play in that poker tournament downstairs. Rumor has it that Eckhart brings the top players to a private game. I'll be able to get a better feel for him there."

"You know what might be a better idea?" Bess asked.

"What?"

"Talk to the police and let them handle this."

"Bess..."

"Seriously Nancy. You want to go and try and confront a big Las Vegas bad guy. These guys don't mess around. I saw all those gangster movies. And you want to enter a poker tournament to get to him? Have you ever even played poker before? You can't just go and pick it up."

Nancy turned and started out of the bathroom, squeezing past Bess. "I'm doing this Bess. End of discussion. Can I borrow that drop pendant necklace you brought?"

"It's on the desk." Bess sighed. "You're impossible. You know that, right?"

"I'll be fine." Nancy fastened the necklace. "Where did I put my shoes?"

"Foot of the bed. Are you really going to be wearing those? Just looking at them makes my feet hurt."

"Lucky for me, you play poker sitting down." Nancy slipped the shoes on and straightened. She smoothed her mini-skirt. "How do I look?"

"Like you should be carrying pepper spray." Bess deadpanned.

Nancy opened up her clutch purse, checking to make sure she had her wallet. "That would hardly be practical. I'm only bringing this."

"It's official. You're trying to put me into early cardiac arrest."

"Bess," Nancy walked over to her friend, and placed both hands on her shoulders, "relax. I can handle this. I'll just be playing a little bit of poker. In a public place with a lot of security cameras for that matter. Nothing is going to happen to me. I'll probably be safer than you will be."

"Gee, that's comforting." Bess scoffed. "And what if you get to the private game and Eckhart makes you for a detective? Then what are you going to do?"

"That's not going to happen, Bess."

"How do you know?"

"I just do." Nancy glanced over to the clock. "Shit, I've gotta get downstairs." She started to leave the hotel room, but turned and spoke over her shoulder. "Do yourself a favor and go out and have some fun tonight alright? It won't do you any good to just sit here and worry."

"Sure. I'll go sit in some random show and worry."

"That's the spirit."

**NDHB**

"Brad, I'd like you to meet Dave Bergeron. He's the owner of this place, and was kind enough to provide us with a sanctioned private game."

Frank shook the hand of his client as Richard Eckhart introduced them. Brad Channing was the alias that he had been taken on upon coming to Vegas for the case; Joe was under as his brother, Harry. "You have a very nice place here." Frank had been waiting in the private game room with Eckhart and some of his flunkies for a little under an hour. He had quickly determined that his was the fixed table, because unless he had gotten extremely good, everyone else at the table was unbelievably bad. On two occasions another person had been escorted into the room. One was a middle-aged woman, named Shelly Channing, and the other a young man, Tim Newton. They would be playing in the game along with Eckhart and himself. Frank could only hope that Joe was one of the other two players that would be joining them.

"Thank you." Bergeron nodded, smiling. "We try our best here at the--,"

"Speaking of the game, where are my last two players?" Eckhart cut in. "It's nearly nine-thirty. If we want to finish by dawn we need to get this show on the road."

Frank looked at Eckhart, not all that surprised that he was willing to interrupt Bergeron, even when the man was doing him a favor. Eckhart was a tall man, in excellent shape, with brown hair slicked back away from his face, and piercing gray eyes. He wore a perfectly tailored suit, and something about presence commanded respect. Frank doubted anyone ever fought the man when he interrupted him.

"I've been told that one of the tables finished up about five minutes ago and the winner is on his way up. The other table is down to two players, and the chip leader appears to be making fast work of the unfortunate soul she's playing against." Bergeron informed quickly.

"Good."

As if on cue, the door to the room opened. A casino employee entered first. Frank released a small sigh of relief when Joe followed him. He had not wanted to be in on this case alone.

"Harry!" Frank feigned surprised. "I didn't think I'd see you up here."

"You two know each other?" Eckhart raised an eyebrow.

"Harry is my brother." Frank explained.

"That's very interesting. And why is it that you didn't expect him?"

"Well, quite frankly, I just don't think he's that good. Usually he gets taken for all he's worth."

"Oh, ha ha." Joe looked around the room. "So who exactly am I going to be playing against? Those two over there?" He pointed to Shelly and Tim, who were chatting together by the table.

"Yes. They're Shelly Channing and Tim Newton. You're brother and I will be playing, as well as one more person. As soon as she arrives, we'll be getting underway. Can I interest you in anything to drink?" Eckhart asked.

Joe was quiet for a moment. "I think I'll just stick with club soda for now. I have to stay sharp."

"Smart thinking." Eckhart nodded. "We'll bring that right up to you." He turned away from the brothers and took a few steps, gesturing to a casino employee.

Bergeron looked between Frank and Joe. "I have to head out. Eckhart only likes to have the dealer in here during the games, and I have a casino to run." He lowered his voice. "I'll expect a full report first thing tomorrow morning."

"Sure thing."

Frank and Joe turned to each other as Bergeron walked over to Eckhart to get the final OK. "How long have you been up here?" Joe asked.

"For a while." Frank answered. "But I haven't noticed anything off with Eckhart yet, other than the fact that pretty much everyone will do whatever he says. I wouldn't be all that surprised if he cheats or the game is rigged. He seems like the type who enjoys winning."

Joe glanced around the room. "What about everyone else in here?"

"Aside from his flunkies I'm willing to bet that they're all clear. We'll just have to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Especially once the game gets started up. If he does anything in the room, he's probably thinking that people are too distracted by the game to notice anything. We'll have to keep track of a lot so--,"

"Excellent! Our last player is here." Eckhart's voice boomed over the rest of the room and everyone turned to the door to see who would enter.

Every thought that had been in Frank's mind left it. Entering the room, wearing a black mini-skirt, pin-striped button-up halter vest, and heels that made her legs look like they didn't end, was Nancy Drew. The make up threw him off a little, given that he had never seen her wear that much, but her eyes and hair were a dead giveaway; the drop-dead gorgeous woman standing in front of him was Nancy Drew.

A sharp elbow to the ribs from Joe brought him back to reality. "Hey Mr. Don't-Blow-This? We're supposed to be able to bluff." Joe whispered.

She ran a hand through her hair, and after surveying the room walked straight up to Eckhart. "Thanks for inviting me up here, Mr. Eckhart." She held out a hand. "I'm Natalya Marek."

The name briefly through Frank off before he remembered their case in little Panaslava. He quickly refocused once more, curious as to what Nancy was doing exactly.

"Please, call me Rich." Eckhart brought her hand up and kissed it. "And you earned your place to come play in this game. I'm told you were impressive down at the tables." He paused briefly. "Natalya...that's a very pretty name. Is it French?"

"Slavic, actually." Nancy answered.

"Oh, how exotic. Perhaps we'll have some time for you to tell me more about it lately. But let's get the game started. We can introduce you to everyone at the table." Eckhart clapped his hands together once. "All right everyone, it's time to get this game underway. The game is no-limit Texas Hold'Em, and you'll be playing against me and the others here for a prize of 10,000 and an automatic seat here when the next tournament rolls around. None of that mess downstairs. If we could all take seats at the table please we'll be able to get started." He grabbed Nancy's hand and led her over to the table. There he pulled out a chair. "You can sit here next to me, Natalya. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Can you get me a Kiss in the Dark?" Nancy took the seat and half-looked at Eckhart over her shoulder.

"I'll get you the drink and then the real thing later." Eckhart winked. "I'll go get that drink started. You introduce yourself to the rest of the table, and when I get back we'll get started."

**NDHB**

"I'll call."

Nancy glanced down and flipped the corners of her cards up as Eckhart pushed a stack of his chips towards the middle of the table. Another reminder look at the center of the table told her that she had a pair of eights, which wasn't bad at all for this stage of the game. They had been playing for quite literally hours and only two of the players had been taken out of the tournament, those two being Shelly and Tim. Nancy was proud to say that she had delivered the final blow to both players, and had since been playing slowly while the rest of the table fought it out. "I'll raise two thousand."

She watched as Joe folded quickly; Frank had folded the moment he had looked at his cards. She had barely contained her surprise when she had recognized the brothers, but it became increasingly apparent that they were there for at least somewhat the same reason that she was, and her curiosities would have to wait.

"That's a little steep for my liking." Eckhart threw his cards into the center of the table. "Looks like you've got another pot, Natalya. Will you at least show me what you stole my money with this time?"

Nancy shook her head sweetly while his hand squeezed her knee. "Now, if I did that, it would take some of the mystery out of how I steal your money when I do it the next time." She slid her cards over to the dealer and started to gather her chips.

Eckhart glanced down at his watch. "All right. We're going to put the tournament on pause for tonight. I know you young folk can probably keep going on all night but I'm getting older and 1:30 in the morning is my limit." He pushed away from the table and the others followed suit. "You needn't worry about the integrity of the game, there are cameras everywhere."

"What time should we back here tomorrow then?" Joe asked.

Nancy coughed right as Eckhart was answering Joe's question. She eyed Frank quickly before turning her focus back to Eckhart. "I'm sorry; did you say 7:49?" She smirked. "That seems like an odd time to start a poker game."

"8:00 sharp." Eckhart corrected. "I look forward to seeing you all there."

**NDHB**

Thoughts? A little anti-climatic, I know, but it's gotta build.

Also, I'm thinking of doing a little one line teaser at the end of each chapter. For example the teaser for the next chapter would be:

"Going back to your place would just make my night."

Is this something that would interest you?


	2. Angel in the Centerfold

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them. I also do not own or am affiliated with any pop culture references that I may choose to include.

Author's Notes: Thank you for the flood of reviews. It felt great to open up my inbox and see them all. Thanks to your feedback I've decided to go ahead with doing the teaser lines. They shouldn't be too much of an extra cliffhanger, as I'm out of school for the summer, so I have a lot more time to work on this.

**Angel in the Centerfold**

"Well, that was pretty interesting, don't you think?" Joe waited for Frank to answer him. When he didn't get a response right away he looked over, Joe shook his head when he realized what the problem was. "Come on Frank." He grabbed his brother's arm and started to drag him towards the elevator bank. Frank had been watching Nancy walk away. "Enough of that."

"Enough of what?" Frank shook out of Joe's grip.

Joe scoffed. "Oh please."

"What?"

"A dead guy could see you checking out her ass."

"I was not--,"

"Not that it's not looking particularly nice tonight, mind you, but..."

"Joe!" Frank stopped in his tracks, looking somewhat angrily and shocked at his younger brother.

Joe's face was very amused when he turned over to face Frank. "What? Are you the only guy who can say she looks hot?"

"I did not say she looks hot." Frank protested.

"Maybe not verbally, but the look on your face said it all."

"That was surprise at seeing her. Not checking her out."

"Whatever you say." Joe shook his head. If his brother wanted to be in denial that was his problem.

"It was." Frank paused, deciding a change of subject was needed. "So what do you make of Eckhart?"

Joe stepped into an open elevator. "As I was saying when you were being visually stimulated, I think—Hey!" His head darted up to the back of his head where Frank had slapped him. "As I was saying when you were...otherwise distracted, I think that was all pretty interesting."

The doors closed, and Frank pushed the button for floor seven. "What? You mean the part where nothing out of the ordinary happened?"

"Exactly. Bergeron was talking like whatever this was would be pretty clear once we saw it. I didn't exactly see anything. And we're not on floor seven."

"Well it's not the surprising, considering how long Eckhart's been in business. If he is up to something he's smart enough not to do it in front of perfect strangers. And we're not on floor seven, but Nancy is."

"I see. Is that something that you picked up during the game, or when she was on the way out?"

Frank slapped the back of Joe's head again as the elevator doors opened. He started out before Joe had fully registered that they were there. "That's what she was doing when she screwed up the time we'd be starting the game tomorrow. She was letting us know where to meet her."

"Oh...clever little trick." Joe hurried to catch up with his brother. "Do you think she'll have any idea what Eckhart's up to?"

"Only one way to find out."

**NDHB**

Nancy refolded the evening's clothes and placed them back into her suitcase. She had wasted no time in returning to her hotel room and trading the outfit for a t-shirt and boxers. Despite what she had told Bess about being comfortable, the outfit was anything but; the skirt was about three inches too short for her liking, the top was a size or two small enough to constrict her breathing, and the shoes had been murder on her feet. Pajamas were a welcome change. She was removing her earrings when there was a knock at the door.

She stood straight, and walked the short distance over to the door. "Who is it?"

"Brad and Harry Channing." The voice called through the door.

Nancy smiled and opened the door. "Come on in." She greeted. "I'm so glad you got my message." Once Frank and Joe were both inside the room she closed the door, and hurried forward, hugging Frank. "What are you guys doing here?" She traded Frank for Joe. "And why are you playing in a poker tournament? I mean, you're obviously investigating something, otherwise you would be using your own name but..." She trailed off pulling away, and then pointed in a somewhat accusing manner at Joe. "I know for a fact that you are not old enough to be gambling at all."

"We were hired by the owner of the casino, Dave Bergeron." Frank started to explain. "He's bending a couple rules so Joe can help out. Like giving him a fake ID."

Nancy nodded. "What does he have you looking into?"

"Eckhart. Bergeron and several others think that he might be using the poker games as a front for something, but they don't know what."

"And you're supposed to find out." Nancy filled in for Joe. "I don't suppose you've had any luck yet."

Frank took a seat on the one chair in the room. The others followed suit, each sitting on the edge of one of the beds. "We were kind of hoping that you would know."

Nancy shook her head. "Not exactly. I've been in town for about a week now checking out the disappearance of an old friend. The only leads that I've come across brought me to Eckhart, so I decided to check him out."

"And he decided to check you out too." Joe wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "In fact you were turning a lot of heads tonight. That outfit was something else." A glance at Frank told him that his brother was concerned about Nancy learning about earlier that evening. He grinned mischievously. "And you looked spectacular in it. Have you been working out?"

Nancy rolled her eyes. "Thank you. And no."

Frank coughed. "So you think maybe your friend entered the tournament and met Eckhart through it?"

"I know she played in the tournament." Nancy nodded. "And I'm pretty sure she made it up to the private room. Anything after that is anyone's guess. Her trail stops there."

"Well, the room has security cameras. Maybe we can get Bergeron to the pull the tapes. They might have something on them that leads to what happened to her." Frank suggested.

"That would be great. You don't know how much I want to find Josie before we're supposed to go back to that game tomorrow night."

Joe looked surprised. "Seriously? You're kicking ass. Where did you even learn to play poker?"

"Ask your father."

"Our dad taught you?" Frank asked.

Nancy shook her head. "Ask him who he played against in college."

Both caught on quickly. Her dad had taught her. But Joe was still curious. "But if you're doing so well, why don't you want to keep playing? I know I would."

There was another knock on the door and Nancy stood. She answered as she was walking over. "You didn't have Eckhart's hand groping your thigh all night. Who is it?"

"It's me, Bess." Nancy opened the door, and Bess hurried in. "Thank goodness you're here. I left my keycard on the table when I went out earlier and I thought I was either going to be left standing out in the hall until you got back at god knows when or have to con some poor maid into letting me in, and let me tell you, neither prospect was sounding all that appeal--," She pointed and turned back around to face Nancy. "Frank and Joe Hardy are here."

Joe stood, grinning. "I'm telling you Bess, those identification skills of yours improve every time that I see you." He hugged the blond. "Nancy didn't tell us that you were in town too."

"Yeah, why aren't you at the poker table with Nancy?" Frank asked, taking his turn to hug her.

"Because I happen to think that she's crazy for even doing it. And, although it's slightly relieving to find out that you two are here, I did find proof that she is." Bess started rifling through her purse. "I think I know what happened to Josie."

"What?" Nancy did a double take, hurrying over from the door. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I took your advice, and I went out to see a show. Just one of those cute little comedy magic shows, but it was still pretty fun." Bess started. "And while I was there I met this guy, Steve. He's a med student on vacation from New York, and really cute. I'll have to show you the picture on my phone later."

"Bess, what exactly did you find?" Nancy asked.

"I'm getting there. So after the show, Steve and I went to this little bar for a drink to get to know each other better and while we were inside, someone put a flyer on the windshield of his car. Here it is." Bess pulled out a colorful brochure. "It's for this place called le Chateau D'Amour. "

Frank's eyes lit up in recognition. "That's the brothel that Eckhart owns."

"It figures he'd be in on this." Bess sounded disgusted. "I don't trust that guy at all."

Joe turned to his brother. "Why, Frank I'm surprised at you. How did you know that was a brothel?"

"Did you even read the portfolio on Eckhart?"

"Why? I knew that you would."

"Guys." Nancy cut the boys off before their brotherly bickering could really start and Frank launched into a speech on responsibility. "Bess, back to Josie. What is it that you found?"

Bess handed the brochure over to Nancy. "Look who's on the front cover."

Nancy looked down and sure enough staring back up at her was her old friend. "I don't believe it."

"I know. Josie hardly ever seemed like the type."

"She wasn't." Nancy shook her head. She looked up to Frank and Joe to explain. "We went to high school with Josie. She was the head of environmental club, vice president of the student body, hell, she practically started the school's abstinence program."

"That doesn't exactly sound like a girl who voluntarily goes into prostitution."

"She wouldn't. I'm willing to bet that somehow Eckhart forced her into it."

Joe nodded. "That could be what we're after. He finds out who the girls entered in the tournament that he thinks he can use are, and one way or another they end up working for him. I can see that."

"I'll bet that with some of them he even goes so far as to rig their preliminary round table to make sure that they get to the private room so he can get a better feel for them." Frank continued.

"And from the way he was looking at you he probably has you pegged as his next girl."

"That could be good." Nancy took her seat on the bed again. "It'll be a lot easier to get information that way."

"Great. She's gone from a slutty outfit to becoming a hooker." Bess sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Are you crazy?" Frank asked. "Do you have any idea what could happen if you decided to take this thing all the way to the brothel?"

"I'm not talking about staying there for ever. Just snooping around long enough to find Josie and figure out if there are others there who don't actually want to be there. Maybe grab a little bit of evidence on what he's done."

Bess continued to look exasperated. "And that will be so easy for you."

"I don't know." Joe said. "I might be with Frank on this one Nancy. Becoming a hooker for this case may sound like a good idea, but it could go badly really fast. For all you know Eckhart has some sort of initiation type thing that you'd have to do before you could snoop around."

"And what if he put you to work right away without a chance too look around? If you break cover you'll probably end up dead, and do you even realize what the alternative would be?"

Nancy sighed. "You do realize how long I've been a detective, right? I can take care of myself. Do you remember when we first met? I flipped you flat on your back like it was nothing. And Eckhart's smaller than you. Besides, I really think you guys are being just a little paranoid about this. Going in as his new girl is the best way to find information. If we send the police in he'll hide everything incriminating."

Bess' cell phone rang, interrupting the conversation. She pulled it out of her bag and answered it quickly. "Hey Steve...that's so sweet...I can't stop thinking about you either...I'm just sitting in my hotel room...my friends are talking about becoming prostitutes...your hotel room?...going back to your place would just make my night...I'll be over there in, like, twenty minutes...OK, see you then." She hung up the phone and looked over the room. "I'm gonna leave the nefarious planning of Eckhart's downfall to you three now, in favor of getting to know Steve better like a somewhat normal twenty-one year old. I'll call to check in in the morning." She said to Nancy. She then turned to the Hardys. "It was great to see you again. We'll probably talk later. Do me a favor, and don't let her become Eckhart's new pretty woman? Thanks."

**NDHB**

Frank looked down at his cards, considering them carefully. The game was down to himself and Nancy. Eckhart had taken Joe out several hands earlier when Joe had gone all in with a pair of kings; Eckhart had held aces. Frank had then managed to get Eckhart out the next hand when he had managed to get a straight flush. Both Joe and Eckhart had stayed and were still sitting at the table, observing the rest of the game.

Frank fingered at one stack of his chips. He had a pair of sevens and was wondering if it would hold up. Nancy had risen. He was relatively confident that Nancy was bluffing; he had been around her in enough situations where she was lying that he thought he could tell when she was. In the end, he figured that he had to go with it. "I'll call."

"Interesting." Nancy murmured, while the dealer laid out the flop in the middle of the table.

"What's interesting?" Frank asked.

Nancy looked down to check her cards. "Nothing. I'll raise five thousand."

She said it so confidently that Frank was no longer so sure that she was bluffing. The flop was a two, a seven, and a queen, all of different suits, and he wasn't entirely sure how she could have formed a hand that would have made her so confident from those cards, without having started with something. At the same time, his pair had turned into three-of-a-kind. "I'll raise two thousand." He challenged.

Nancy raised an eyebrow. "Really? Hmm..." She looked down to think.

Eckhart nudged her gently. "Did Brad here, run you into a corner, Natalya? He's surprisingly bold for such a straight-laced guy."

"I caught that. I'll call."

"Uh-oh. Brad. Looks like you might be in trouble." Joe took some level of amusement in his brother's situation. He certainly wouldn't want to play head to head against Nancy. She could be scary when she wanted to be.

"Be quiet Harry." Frank urged. The turn card was flipped over. It was a second queen, which gave him a full house. He looked back across to Nancy waiting for what she would do.

"I'll check."

Frank didn't hesitate. "I'm all in."

What surprised him was when Nancy didn't hesitate in her response. "I'll call."

The dealer flipped over the river. It was a three, and at this point entirely inconsequential. "Show your hands."

Frank flipped his over first, feeling his confidence rise a bit more. A win on his part wouldn't completely knock Nancy out, but it would put him at a significant advantage. Even so there was a slight nagging feeling in the back of his mind that if she were to somehow beat him, she would win.

And win she did. Nancy flipped her cards over, revealing a pair of queens. Nancy had four-of-a-kind. "Game, set, match."

Frank shook his head. "Nicely played." He held out his hand, which Nancy shook. "I can't say I saw that coming."

"I know." Nancy pushed away from the table as everyone stood.

Eckhart wrapped an arm around her waist, and went so far as to kiss her cheek. "Wonderfully played Natalya. You have some excellent acting skills." He turned to face the boys. "Both of you were also admirable opponents. I hope you'll consider entering the next tournament. I would enjoy playing against you in the future."

"We'll definitely think about it." Joe nodded.

"Now," Eckhart turned back to Nancy, removing his arm from her waist. "I have a bit of a proposition for you. Do you think we could talk somewhere a little more private?"

Frank fought not to appear to interested, but was desperately hoping that Nancy would say no. He and Joe had not been entirely successful in their efforts to convince her that continuing the charade of Natalya and going into the brothel as Eckhart's new girl would be a bad idea, and he wasn't entirely sure what she was planning on doing.

Nancy thought for about a minute. "I think that sounds like an excellent idea."

**NDHB**

Thoughts?

Next chapter's teaser: "I think it's possible that your boss is lying to you."


	3. Call Me Irresponsible

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them. I also do not own or am affiliated with any pop culture references that I may choose to include.

Author's notes: Thanks so much for all your feedback! A couple of you have addressed some concerns about Nancy's characterization in your reviews. I just wanted to assure you that she has that particular attitude for a reason that will be clearer later on as the story develops.

**Call Me Irresponsible**

Frank was pacing back and forth across the hotel room. Frank had been pacing for at least ten minutes since they had reached the room. Frank was annoying Joe.

"You know, contrary to what you may think, walking pensively between two points does not create some sort of tear in the time space continuum that lets you see what's going on at some other location." Joe commented from his own spot sitting with his feet propped onto the desk.

"I don't like this." Frank said. "She shouldn't be talking with him alone."

"Well she is. And you might as well try and relax. It's not like you'd be able to stop her from doing anything anyways. She's 21 years old. You know, an adult. Like you pretend to be."

Frank sighed and stopped his pacing to look at Joe. "I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it."

Joe shifted his feet off of the desk. "Nancy's not stupid. She was talking a big game last night, probably to impress someone," he looked pointedly at Frank, "but she knows that going under as one of Eckhart's girls would be a bad idea."

"And if our theory about him forcing the girls is right then she's not going to get a chance to make the choice in the first place."

"Go back to pacing, will you?" Joe frowned. "It may have been annoying but at least it wasn't depressing."

**NDHB**

"So," Nancy took a bite out of her slice of chocolate cream pie. She and Eckhart sat in a private booth at the hotel's dessert bar. He wasn't eating anything, but she intended to indulge herself. "What exactly did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, I've been watching you carefully the past couple of nights." Eckhart started.

Nancy looked at him through her eyelashes. "Oh?"

"You're a very good looking young woman." Before Nancy could thank him, Eckhart continued. "Now, I know why you entered the tournament Natalya. I think that you could have a very promising career in that particular field."

Nancy made the choice not to ask any questions despite her confusion. Eckhart was clearly under the impression that she understood him, and she didn't want to ruin that. Instead she settled for a more non-committal answer. "You think so?"

"Of course. You'd make an excellent addition down at the ranch."

"The ranch?"

"Oh, I always forget that the newcomers don't call it that." Eckhart leaned back against the booth. "I, of course, mean le Chateau d'Amour."

"And you think I'd fit in there?"

"Natalya," Eckhart leaned back forward, onto his elbows, "I have seen a lot of girls come through this tournament looking to work at the ranch. I have very little doubt that you measure up to them. But I've taken a liking to you, and I think you're better than that. I have a proposition for you."

Nancy raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

"How would you feel about being my personal companion?"

That wasn't what Nancy had been expecting. She placed her fork down. "That depends." She shrugged coyly. "What exactly does being the personal companion of Richard Eckhart entail?"

"Well, you'd be my escort to important events, live with me, allow me to dote upon you with lavish gifts...I guess back in Podunk, New York, or wherever it is you said that school you go to is--,"

"Ithaca." Nancy prompted. "At Cornell." It had been the first piece of true information that she had given to him other than her age.

"Well, back in Ithaca, they'd probably call you my girlfriend if it helps you to define it." Eckhart quickly held up a hand. "Now, I don't want you to answer right away. This is a big decision. I want you to think about it tonight and give me your decision tomorrow at lunch. What do you say to one o'clock down the street at the Hard Rock?"

"I'll be there."

"Excellent."

**NDHB**

"Well, I'm about 85 sure that our theory on forced prostitution is wrong." Nancy announced, entering the Hardys hotel room when Frank opened the door for her.

"Why? What did he say?" Frank asked.

"That I would make an excellent addition to le Chateau d'Amour, but he would much rather have me be his girlfriend." Nancy explained. She removed her hair tie and shook out her ponytail. "He thought I was playing specifically to get hired. It looks like that's pretty standard practice."

Joe frowned. "So your friend, Josie, wanted to be a call girl?"

"Are you sure he was telling the truth? Maybe your cover was blown and he's trying to--,"

"Frank." Joe cut his brother off. "You played poker with the guy. He couldn't bluff."

"Neither can you. But I've seen you lie plenty of times. Game situations are different than real life." Frank pointed out.

Nancy sat down on one of the beds. "I still want to talk to Josie. I can't believe that she would choose to be a prostitute."

"But..." Joe filled in.

"But at the same time I'm inclined to believe what Eckhart said. And there's not exactly anything illegal about what he's doing if he is." Nancy finished. "If it's true, we're back to square one. Unless I accept his offer."

Frank shook his head. "Out of the question. It's too dangerous."

Nancy crossed her arms over her chest. "It's safer than going in as a prostitute. He's only one guy."

"With a security force that isn't exactly known for its niceties."

"If Eckhart was a woman and wanted you as her boyfriend you'd go in." Nancy pointed out.

"That's different."

"The security force is the same. You'd be in just as much danger. Probably more."

Frank sighed. "Nancy. I'm not trying to say that you couldn't handle going in. I'm just saying that I don't like the situation. Help isn't going to be readily available." He turned to his brother, who so far had kept out of the argument. "Will you help me out here?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't think you're going to like what I have to say. While I agree that pretending to be Eckhart's girlfriend would be dangerous," Joe prefaced, "it does have a lot of pros attached to it. She'd be around him all the time, and would probably get a clue or to as two what he's up to."

Nancy nodded. "Thank you."

Frank leaned against the wall. "I still don't like it."

"I'm not completely unprepared for this Frank. And if it would make you feel any better, I'll lend you some software that puts my dad at ease whenever he thinks I'm in danger." Nancy lifted her hand and shook it, showing off a charm bracelet. "The magnifying glass charm is a GPS. I'll give you the program that lets you track me before I leave. That way, if you feel the need to go completely paranoid, you have something to calm you down."

"It's a start."

**NDHB**

Bess watched Nancy carefully as her friend repacked her suitcase. The situation had been bothering her since she had heard about it; Nancy wasn't the type of girl who simply waved off danger, and yet here she was, ignoring every warning that she had been given. Something was off. "OK. Spill."

"What?"

"What's up with you?" Bess asked. "Did someone hit you over the head or something? There's been a serious personality alteration."

"No there hasn't."

"Uh, yeah. There has. Are you seriously telling me that you've spent all your time up at Cornell becoming invincible, as your new confidence suggests?"

Nancy stopped packing, and her head lowered. "No. I haven't been doing a whole lot at Cornell except classes."

"What do you mean?" Bess frowned.

"You know the phrase, 'little fish in a big pond'? I am one." Nancy turned around, and sat atop her suitcase. "I'm going to school for journalism, but I can't get anything started. I'm not even working on the paper."

"Well why not? You're a great writer. You got pieces put in the paper back in River Heights all the time."

"They were all investigative pieces. And there's nothing to investigate out in Ithaca. As it turns out, I'm not that special when you take away the mysteries. Just another student."

"And let me guess. You think you'll be proving to yourself that you're more than that if you do this." Bess shook her head. "All you be proving to yourself is that you can die. Nancy, this is stupid. Solve the case the normal way. You know. Team up with the boys and do your little mind-melding thing with Frank. Then, you and I can have a serious discussion about the fact that you're crazy to think that you're nobody and that instead of throwing yourself into stupid situations you could just go into a career better suited for your skills."

Nancy sighed. "You're right. Maybe the isolation up there has been getting to me."

"Of course I'm right. I don't know why you people always insist on waiting so long before bringing your problems to me."

"I'm still going to take Eckhart's deal though."

"See, that was not part of the solution."

**NDHB**

"Your mind is not here."

Bess turned to Steve's concerned face and squeezed his hand. They were walking down the strip, mostly watching other people for lack of a better afternoon activity. "Sure it is." She smiled.

"Oh?" Steve raised an eyebrow. "Then what was I just talking about?"

"The thrill of the first time that you brought a patient back to life when you were an EMT."

"Lucky guess. You haven't been focused all day."

"I've been focused enough to hear you, haven't I? But I'll tell you what. You have my full attention right now. Tell me anything."

"In that case..." Steve led her over to a spot away from the foot traffic and stopped walking. "I know we only met a couple of days ago, but you are all that I've been able to think about and--,"

As he continued to talk, Bess spotted two men out of the corner of her eye. One, she could easily recognize as the man that Nancy was pretending to date, Richard Eckhart. The other she was unsure of the identity of. Instead of listening to Steve, she tried to focus on their conversation, taking place a few feet away.

"They're both just hanging around the hotel." The unidentified man was saying. "I'll call them up to my office for a progress report when you want me to."

"Good." Eckhart nodded. "That'll make it easier to get them out of the hotel. I've cleared everything with my guy who is doing the final inspection before the demolition. As long as your guys put them anywhere on the fourteenth floor, we'll be in the clear. No one will ever even find the bodies."

"I'll make sure that's clear. What about the girl?"

"My security team--,"

"Bess." Steve cut into Bess' thoughts. "You said I had your attention."

"I'm sorry, I'm just trying to hear what's going on over there." Bess quickly turned her attention back to the conversation.

"--, she'll go down with them. Don't worry." Eckhart finished. "By this time tomorrow, the Hardys and Nancy Drew will be buried in rubble, soon to be forgotten."

"That's what I like to hear."

"You came up with the plan. I'm just executing it."

"Never let it be said that Dave Bergeron doesn't have what it takes to rule Vegas." The second man laughed. And realization dawned on Bess.

"As always, it's a pleasure doing business with you Dave." Eckhart shook Bergeron's hand and started to walk away.

Bess dug through her purse and pulled out her cell phone. She quickly started composing a text message. "Steve, I'm sorry, but remember how I told you that my friends were detectives? Well, as it turns out those guys are planning to kill them. I just need to warn them, and then you can have my undivided attention." She pressed the send button, and then looked up. "OK. What were you saying?"

"Well, even though it would be crazy to take things too far, I can't imagine going back to New York after this vacation is over and not being able to see you every day. You've made an impression on me that I don't think I can--,"

Bess' phone rang, and she flashed him an apologetic glance. "I'm sorry. Just give me one second." She quickly answered the call. "Hi Joe...I just wanted to check on something. You and Frank were hired by Dave Bergeron, right?...Yeah, I think it's possible that your boss is lying to you...I just overheard him talking with that Eckhart guy, and it sounds to me like they're planning on kidnapping you from the hotel later today and having you killed...Yeah I didn't think it sounded so good either...I'd probably get out of there pretty quick...warn Nancy? We might want to do that, but she left her phone...Frank wants to stage a rescue mission?...Isn't that a little premature?...Well when you put it that way...a little feminine distraction for the guards?...OK, I'm in...I'll meet you guys in what, 20 minutes?...OK, I'll be there. Bye."

"I take it you're leaving." Steve said as she hung up the phone.

"Yeah." Bess winced at his disappointed tone. "It's just, my friend is undercover with this big bad gangster, and we need to get her out of there."

"Can't you just call the police? This sounds like their job. And we were going to spend the afternoon together."

Bess put her phone back into her bag. "It is. And I'm sorry. It's just, this is kind of what I do." She kissed his cheek. "I'll call you as soon as this mess is sorted out."

"You probably shouldn't."

"Fine."

Bess turned and walked away, taking a brief moment to curse the situation. "He was so cute."

**NDHB**

Thoughts?

Next chapter's teaser: "I'm afraid you'll have to choose who it is that you'll be saving."


	4. In Too Deep

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them. I also do not own or am affiliated with any pop culture references that I may choose to include.

Author's notes: Thanks for the reviews and sorry about the delay, but as a reward for your patience it's a double update so I'd say that about makes up for it.

**In Too Deep**

"I'm so glad that you decided you'd be joining me, Natalya." Eckhart put a hand on Nancy's knee after they had gotten into the back of his car. The two had grabbed a quick lunch, but the moment that Nancy had mentioned her decision to take his offer, Eckhart had been eager to get going, something that Nancy took notice of with some level of suspicion.

Nancy placed her hand on top of his, slowly intertwining her fingers with his. She didn't want to draw too much attention to the fact that she was moving his hand. "You wouldn't believe how excited I am about it."

"I might have an idea." Eckhart smirked a little. "But that will wait for a while. We need to go back to your hotel and pick up your things, and then I'd like to get you settled in at my place."

"That reminds me. You haven't told me where it is that I'll be living" Nancy decided that a little information fishing wouldn't be too out of place, particularly if she continued to flirt heavily during the process. Still, her conversation with Bess weighed heavily in the back of her mind, and she could feel herself second-guessing things even as she said them.

Eckhart shrugged. "I have a little place in a gated community just outside the city. You'll love it. It's very private."

His tone was haughty enough that Nancy knew he meant that he had a mansion when he had a little place. She leaned into him, feeding his attitude a bit more. "How private?"

"You won't ever have to worry about nosy neighbors." Eckhart got a leering look in his eyes, and Nancy started to prep for the kiss or whatever it was that might be coming her way. Instead of an embrace, however, Eckhart's cell phone rang. "Hold that thought for a moment." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone. "Richard Eckhart...they what?...that's a turn of events...someone must have tipped them off...well that's a bit drastic...no, we'll simply switch to our second plan...yes, we'll meet you there this evening at sunset...if anything else comes up, call." Eckhart hung up the phone, and flashed Nancy an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that."

"It's all right."

"Rob," Eckhart addressed his driver, "there's been a change of plans. We're going to head over to the Bellagio."

"We are?" Nancy asked.

"Yes, we are. Well, I am. Like I said, Nancy. There's been a change of plans."

Nancy's smile dropped at the use of her name. Every warning that she had been given, and the questions of Eckhart's sincerity jumped up to echo mockingly in the forefront of her mind. She had been had. And she had the sinking feeling that she would be paying for it. "I don't suppose you'll tell me where it is that I'm going." She said flatly, not sure if she should expect an answer, or if she would even want one.

"Oh, you'll be having a bit of fun down at the ranch." Eckhart answered quickly. "Rob, where did you stash those handcuffs? I don't want Nancy giving the boys any trouble."

**NDHB**

"OK, according to this, we want to take the next right." Bess announced not removing her eyes from the laptop she held in her lap. Frank was driving the rental car, and Joe sat in the passenger seat monitoring the traffic around them, leaving her the back seat giving directions.

Joe turned around, not so much to look at Bess as to look through the rear window. His eye had been on several vehicles behind them for several minutes, and at least one of them seemed to be moving in closer to their car. "Hold that thought, Frank." He cautioned. "We've got company."

"How many?" Frank asked. His grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly, and he glanced up to the rearview mirror.

"Looks like three."

"Bess, close the laptop and hold onto it." Frank instructed. "I'm gonna try and lose these guys." He pressed his foot down on the gas pedal, but as the car started to accelerate, the car in front of him slowed, giving him less room to work with. Another glance in the mirror and a nod from Joe told him that their pursuers were coming closer, and he started to move to pass the car.

Before he got very far, two of the pursuing cars were flanking his, keeping him from making much of any movement. The car in the rear sped up a bit more, and the front one slowed more. They were affectively boxed in.

"You know, I could be wrong, but I don't think this is really how you lose someone." Bess commented, nervously glancing around at the surrounding vehicles.

"If you have a suggestion, I'm all ears." Frank responded quickly. The situation was continuing to worsen. The car on his left was moving in closer, forcing him to go right to avoid being hit, while the car on the right moved right to give him just enough space; they were forcing him off the road. "I'd get ready for a fight guys." He was on the side of the road now, and made a quick decision for a last ditch effort to get out. "Brace yourselves." He slammed down on the breaks and jerked the steering wheel to aim the car where he anticipated a whole in their captor's system should they fall for the trick. Everyone in the car flew forward against their seatbelts. The car started to spin out on the dirt, and the cars surrounding them hit their own breaks quickly without missing a beat. They stopped, completely in formation. The car barely stopped its careening before it collided into the end of the front vehicle.

Once it stopped, both Frank and Joe undid their seatbelts, ready to fight whatever was coming. But no one got out of the surrounding cars. The trio looked around, bewildered. The minute of silence that followed was tense, and no one was all that willing to say anything. Then Bess was the one that had the clear view of a fifth car pulling up next to the scene. When it stopped three burly looking men jumped out and jogged over to the car.

"I don't think those guys are going to want to take us dancing."

"You might want to wait here." Joe cautioned. He and Frank both opened their doors and got out of the car, so as not to be stuck completely off-guard when the first blow came. He went over to Frank's side of the car and took a place next to his brother.

Instead of the fight that the Hardys were expecting the three men simply pulled guns. Rather large guns, that nobody in their right mind would go against if they had an option.

"Hey there," Joe smiled nervously, and held his hands up in what he would classify as a non-threatening manner, "those are some pretty big weapons for such friendly looking guys."

The level of amusement that Joe found in the comment was lost upon the three men. The one in the middle placed a firm hand on Frank's forearm and gripped it tightly. "You're coming with us." Before any reaction could even be had, he was dragging Frank back to their vehicle.

"And you're going back in there." The second man shoved Joe backwards, with an unexpected strength considering he used one hand, and Joe fell onto the driver's seat through the door that Frank had left open. He barely had time to jerk his legs fully into the car before the door was slammed shut on him.

The men then jogged back to their vehicle. Joe quickly started the car, ready to chase after them, but the cars surrounding him didn't move. He and Bess watched helplessly as the car containing Frank sped away.

**NDHB**

Nancy glanced around the room at le Chateau d'Amour that she had been tossed in and locked into with distaste. There was nothing all that unpleasant about the room itself; it was simply a clichéd romantic bedroom. However she was, most certainly, unhappy about being stuck there. The only upside was that Eckhart's men had removed her handcuffs when they had put her there, leaving her with some level of mobility.

Now her focus was on finding a way out of the room. She figured that the door would be out of the question, as even if she could unlock it from the inside there would be too many opportunities for her to get caught. Her only other option appeared to be the room's window, a single frame about halfway up the wall. She was on the second floor of Eckhart's brothel so she was slightly concerned about the height, but when she looked out the window she could see a trellis climbing up the wall about an arm's length away. Nancy figured that she'd be able to reach it if she tried.

A quick decision told her that there was no time like the present to get out and she started to open the window. No sooner was the glass up and Nancy was trying to force the window screen out that the door to the room flew open. Nancy simply started to work more quickly instead of trying to turn around.

A hand gripped onto her shoulder, and pulled her violently away from the window. She fell back onto the bed, sliding a bit on the silk sheets. "Trying to escape?" The man asked mockingly. Nancy recognized him as one of Eckhart's right hand men, the one who had brought her into the room.

Nancy leapt to her feet. "I was just trying to get some air in here." She lied quickly, hoping to avoid any violence if she could avoid it. It had been a while since she had been involved in a fight, and she doubted that she could take a man as strong as Eckhart's guard. "It's a little stuffy."

"It feels all right to me." He took a step towards her, closing the space between them. "Perhaps you just need some tension relieved." He looked down on her, smirking at the nervous look in her eyes.

"Perhaps you need to leave."

"I don't think so." He took another step in.

Nancy, deciding that she didn't like where the situation was going, eyed the fact that he had left the door open. She turned, and started to run.

She had barely taken two steps before his hand was gripped around her wrist. He yanked her back towards him, and Nancy collided into the wall. "Running is not the way to solve this, sweetheart." He grabbed her other wrist and pinned it to the wall. "Now let me try and help you out." He leaned in and planted a bruising kiss on her lips.

Nancy squirmed against him, trying to turn her face away, which did nothing to deter his advances. She brought her knee up to his gut, which forced him to back off a little, but before she could make a move to run again, he back handed her and her head collided with the wall once more. Her vision temporarily went black and a coppery taste flooded her mouth as a tooth cut into her lip.

He took her by the shoulders and threw her back onto the bed, this time leaning down on her so she had no room to move as she became oriented again. He started kissing her again.

Her legs were kicking against his to no avail, and while he held her arms with one hand, he was using the other to rip open her shirt, groping her roughly. When his tongue found its way through her protesting lips, Nancy bit down and he pulled away once more.

"You little bitch." He backhanded her again. "You're going to be spending a lot of time here so you had better learn to enjoy this."

As he was leaning back down a new voice, this time female joined the fray. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing? Bobby this is Rich's personal room, you know you're not allowed to go at the girls in here!"

Nancy could barely see the set of arms that pulled the man, Bobby, off her but afterwards as she struggled to sit up, scramble towards the other edge of the bed, and close the tear in her shirt all at the same time, she was able to take in the young woman. The petite brunette was stick thin and barely looked like she would have the strength to kill a fly if it came her way, but she had made fast work of Eckhart's bodyguard. The way her brown eyes were flashing Nancy had little doubt that Bobby was worried about what would happen. It only took a moment for Nancy to recognize her savior as the friend she had been looking for. It was Josie.

"Rich is going to be hearing about this when he gets back here." Josie was saying. "Get the hell out of here!" The idea of Eckhart finding out seemed to worry the guard enough that he left quickly. Josie then turned around. "Are you all right? Don't worry about him, Rich is so much nicer and he'll treat you much—holy shit, Nancy Drew?" Her surprise was quite evident. "What the hell are you doing here? I never would have pegged you the type."

Had Nancy not been so focused on what had just happened, and getting out of the situation, she might have been more inclined to make a similar comment about Josie. Instead she jumped into her problem. "I need to get out of here."

"What? Why?" Josie asked. "Don't take that situation as what it's like here. Rich takes care of his girls."

"You may think that, but he's going to--,"

Nancy was cut off by the beeping of a pager and Josie looked down to the device clipped to the belt of her shorts. "Sorry. I've got to go, I have a client. But we'll catch up later, OK? And don't worry; I'll lock the door on my way out."

**NDHB**

"You'll note that I only took one of you, even though I want you all dead. I've decided that I want to be a bit more sporting. So I'm going to give you two locations. Locker 419 at the Greyhound station just off the main drag, and the Pyramid. Each has a different clue that will lead you one step closer to saving your loved ones. Being the good loser that I am, if you make it before sunset, I'll let you all go, no harm done. If you don't, it's not going to be pretty. Ground rules: There may be two of you, but we'll be watching the clues, so you can only choose one set. Obviously, involving the police will not be to your benefit. Each set of clues will only lead to one person. I'm afraid that you'll have to choose who it is that you'll be saving. Oh, and you'll want to hurry. I'm afraid your friends aren't having a very easy time of it."

Joe stopped the e-mailed video before it could change from Eckhart speaking conversationally to the camera, to video of Nancy and Frank. Neither he, nor Bess needed to see footage of Nancy fighting not to be raped or Frank being beaten, for a second time. The video had been sent only minutes before. In honesty, Joe was surprised. Frank had only been taken twenty minutes previous. It was one of the fastest ransom, if you could call it that, demands he had ever received. He turned to face Bess with a pensive look on his face. Joe always felt that there was a time to think that a situation was urgent, and he felt that they had definitely hit that mark. "We need a plan."

"No shit." Bess deadpanned. "Where do we even start?"

"Well..." Joe ran a hand through his hair, urging himself to think. Even if the situation was urgent, there was no excuse to freeze up and panic. Then it hit him that they had what they needed to do everything, it would just take some fast feet and some even faster thinking. "OK. We can assume from Eckhart's little threats that Frank and Nancy aren't being kept anywhere near each other." He started. "So we need to figure out where Frank is. We can track Nancy down using her bracelet." He explained his thinking before Bess could protest.

"And how do we do that?" Bess asked. "Which clue leads to him? Eckhart didn't say."

"I know." Joe took another moment to think. "Call the police and file an anonymous tip about what you overhead with the demolition. He's probably changed his plans, but they'll take it seriously enough and search the place themselves, which will take care of them if they are there." He instructed. "I'm going to try and figure out which is which."

Bess pulled out her phone and started to dial, while Joe pulled out a pocket sized notebook and pen. He wrote down the two locations and looked down at them. His gut impulses were with the Pyramid. There was an obvious connection to Egypt, and with a connection to Egypt came a connection to them. His main problem was that it was a connection to both Nancy and Frank, and he couldn't see any reason that it might lean one way or the other, so his focus drifted towards the locker.

Locker 419 at the Greyhound station. For some reason it sounded familiar to him, and he knew he should know why, but he didn't. Joe had confidence in the fact that it wasn't the Greyhound station itself that was important. "419." He murmured. On its own, the number seemed to speak even more to him. What it was saying he was less sure. "419."

"The police said they'd look into it." Bess announced. "What have you got?"

"The way I see it the Pyramid could point to either of them so I'm trying to figure out who the locker belongs to. Can you think of any way that 419 is important to Nancy?"

Bess thought for a moment. "No. But numbers could represent almost anything. Times, dates, letters..."

Joe's eyes lit up and he smiled broadly. 'Bess, you're brilliant." He reached forward to pull her across the car seat and give her a quick kiss.

"It's been said before." Bess shrugged, knowing that an explanation would be coming.

"419. April 19th. Frank's birthday." Joe started the car and the two redid their seatbelts, ready to leave from where they had been stopped nearly half an hour before. "Let's get to that bus station."

**NDHB**

"Bess, I'm not going to lie. When Eckhart said that the clue locations were being watched he probably meant that we're walking into an ambush." Joe cautioned as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "His men could be waiting to take us out, or the locker might be rigged. If you want to wait out here, it's probably safer. Just make sure the doors are locked, and get in the driver's seat so you'll be ready to book it out of here if something happens."

Bess scoffed as she undid her own seatbelt. "Please. I may not like the danger, but I did not kill my possible relationship with a future doctor just to sit and wait in a locked car."

"That's the spirit we like to see." The two exited the car and took the short walk into the bus station. A cool wave from the air conditioning system washed over them upon their entrance, but it did nothing to relieve their tension. The building was practically silent except from some smooth and jazzy musak. A clerk sat at the main desk, watching a small portable television. Other than him, and a couple in their thirties sitting in the waiting area adjacent to the wall of lockers, the station was empty. "We need to get them out of here." Joe whispered to Bess. "The fewer people in here when we open that locker, the better."

Bess glanced up at the arrival-departure board briefly, taking note of the next destination. "Follow my lead." She grabbed onto Joe's hand and began to lead him over to the couple with a big and friendly smile on her face. "Hi there, are you two heading out to Carson City too?"

Joe had to fight not to look surprised when Bess spoke with a sugary sweet southern accent.

"Yes, we are." The woman in the pair answered.

"Oh, that's so excitin'." Bess gushed, hurrying around so she could sit next to the woman. "I'm Betsy-Lou, and this is my husband, Kenny."

"Mary."

"Dave." They introduced themselves somewhat warily.

"I tell you, it will just be so nice to have someone to talk to. We have been here all week and there has just been no one to have a decent conversation with. And I have just been yearnin' to talk to someone. You see, I recently found the Lord, and I have been dyin' to talk about it, but all Kenny here knows how to do is talk business. He's a taxidermist." Bess tacked on.

Joe leaned over the back of the bench, and put on his own southern drawl. "All I said was that the good Lord would want us to preserve our loved ones so as to better help us with the grievin' process.'

Bess rolled her eyes. "It'll just be so nice gettin' to know you fine people."

Dave turned to face Mary. "You know, honey," he spoke in a tight voice, "I think I would like to see that magician again before we leave town. I bet if I saw that trick with the elephants one more time I could figure out how it's done."

"Well, I certainly wouldn't want to argue about it with you." Mary stood, urging him to follow. "We'd better get going if we want to get tickets." She turned around to face Bess and Joe. "It was nice to have...well, we met you." She grabbed onto Dave's arm. "Let's get going honey."

Bess and Joe waited until the couple was out the door before bursting into laughter. "Bess, you were amazing. How did you even come up with that?"

"Me? You're the genius who came up with stuffing people."

**NDHB**

Frank stood, with sweat beading on his brow, unsheltered in the Las Vegas desert sun. His hands were cuffed behind his back, and he was flanked on either side by one of Eckhart's men. They had driven for quite some time to get out to their new location, but he had only been stuck outside for about fifteen minutes, waiting for something to happen, but already the heat was starting to get to him.

Dust kicked up around him as another vehicle approached. Frank quickly recognized it as one of Eckhart's various vehicles. It stopped in front of him. The driver's door opened first, and he, an imposing man, got out to open the rear passenger side door. He then yanked the passenger out and tossed her unceremoniously onto the ground. The flash of red hair was enough to tell him that the other prisoner was Nancy, and were it not for the men on either side of him who were sure to shoot him, he would have been making his way over to her.

"Boys, bring Mr. Hardy over here, have him kneel down in front of Nancy." A voice called out airily. It was Eckhart, who had gotten out to the same vehicle.

The men grabbed onto Frank's arms and began walking him forward. They took a great pleasure in shoving him to his knees when they reached Nancy who, at the same time was being forced back up into a kneeling position. Now that he was closer, Frank could see that her shirt had been torn open and was practically useless, and there was a dark bruise on her cheek that extended to a fat lip that had a corner of dried blood to it. He knew he didn't look much better after the beating he had taken earlier; although must of the punches had been focused on his torso, he knew there was a jagged cut on his forehead from one man's ring.

The men started to undo the handcuffs of both Frank and Nancy, and then they brought their arms forward, taking the empty cuff of each set and attaching it to the opposite person's wrist, effectively chaining them together.

"Nancy, Frank," Eckhart acknowledged them both, walking closer to them. "Welcome to the first seconds of the last minutes of your life."

**NDHB**

Thoughts?

No teaser as it's a double update. Read on!


	5. Ain't That a Kick in the Head

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them. I also do not own or am affiliated with any pop culture references that I may choose to include.

Author's notes: Thanks for the reviews and sorry about the delay, but as a reward for your patience it's a double update so I'd say that about makes up for it.

**Ain't That a Kick in the Head**

Joe kicked the tire of the rental car, completely angry and frustrated. The clues left by Eckhart had led him and Bess to several locations, but neither of them felt a single step closer to finding Frank. All they needed to do to know that was to look at the sky. The sun was riding very low in the sky, and every moment spent without making progress worried Joe more.

"Joe," Bess spoke softly, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Don't say it, Bess." Joe warned, shaking out of her grip. "Frank and Nancy are going to be killed when the sun sets and we aren't anywhere close to being able to get them out of it. Things are not all right."

"That wasn't what I was going to say."

"Oh." Joe's angry expression humbled. "Sorry."

"It's all right." Bess nodded. She spoke again after a long silence. "Umm, I'm not all that comfortable suggesting this, but we do know how to find Nancy. And if we go now we could still make it there and meet the police." Bess had been checking the laptop every time they drove and as far as she could tell Nancy was relatively stationary now.

Just like that, the anger returned. "And we're just going to abandon my brother?!"

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Bess replied. "Keep following these clues until the sun sets and they're both dead? Hell, these clues probably just lead us in a giant circle anyways."

"So I'm supposed to just let Frank die?"

Bess hurried forward, grabbing onto his shoulders. "Joe, I'm sorry. I can't imagine what this situation feels like for you. But we can't just let them both die. Think about it. Frank would want us to save Nancy. You know he would."

"Maybe." Joe sighed, and then shook his head. "But I can't just leave him. Not when there's still a chance. Here." He handed the keys to the car over. "Call the police and get out to Nancy. I'm going to keep trying for Frank."

"But--,"

Joe hugged her tightly. "I have to Bess. I'll let you know when I find him."

"I can't just--,"

"Go, Bess."

Bess reluctantly started into the car. "Good luck."

"You too. Say hi to Nancy for me."

"Same for Frank."

Joe watched as Bess drove off, and then returned his focus to the task at hand. He had to find Frank.

**NDHB**

"You must be wondering why it is that I want you dead. It's a bit of a funny story really."

Nancy was still assessing Frank's condition as Eckhart started to talk. Other than the cut on his forehead, he didn't look that bad, but she imagined that if his time was anything like hers then there was much more that she couldn't see.

Eckhart's men took a step back, having completed their handcuff duties. Nancy took to eyeing the man nervously.

"You see, up until Dave Bergeron told me who you were, I had no idea that you even existed. He didn't say what it was exactly, but you guys sure pissed him off good." Eckhart informed. "I owed him a favor, so I figured I'd take care of you for him."

Nancy's attention was turned when Frank took her hands into his, intertwining their fingers. She glanced back to him, and he offered her a quick reassuring smile and squeeze.

"I came up with the idea of getting you out here for a case. The main problem was getting all three of you at once. In the end, we decided to just start with you and your brother, Frank." Eckhart said, smiling. "But then, and this part will really make you laugh, Nancy just shows up. Is this a beautiful world or what?" Nobody answered him as he laughed. "So we made a little game out of it. Any guesses as to how it's going to end?"

"I imagine with you getting carted off by the police." Frank glared.

His smile turned into a smirk. "Awfully cocky for the boy who's stuck in the handcuffs. As a matter of fact, that's not the ending that's been planned for this adventure. No, we're going to have some good, old fashioned executions. And after that we'll take care of you brother and your cute little blond friend. Although killing her would be such a waste. I imagine she could fetch a high price down at the ranch. So would you for that matter," he looked down at Nancy, "but I made a promise to Dave that I would kill you, so that rules that out."

"And breaking a promise would be just the push you'd need to send you straight to hell."

This time Eckhart ignored Frank's comment completely. He turned to glance around at his men, while he pulled out a gun. "It's been a long time since I've done one of these myself, boys. What's the standard time we give for last goodbyes nowadays?"

"That would be two minutes." One man answered.

Eckhart turned back to Frank and Nancy. "You heard the man. Better get cracking."

"How are you doing?" Frank asked quietly, grabbing Nancy's attention once more.

It was all Nancy could do to blink back the tears that sprang to her eyes when he spoke. This was one of the worst situations she had ever gotten herself into, given that it was so hopeless. Before when she had been at the ranch, or even when they were driving to their current location, she had held the idea that a rescue from Frank and Joe wasn't too far off. Now Frank was here and if Eckhart was to be believed then Joe wasn't far off from being in the same boat. There was no way out in sight that Nancy could see. "Oh, OK." She was a little surprised at the way her voice strained. Frank squeezed her hands again to offer assurance. She offered him a weak half-smile. "I guess I'm really not as good as I used to be. At least it's going to be quick, right?"

"Hey." Frank said sternly as her tears started to fall. "Nancy, look at me." He only continued when her eyes met his. "We're better than this. _You're_ better than this. You don't need to be scared."

Nancy couldn't understand how he was so composed. "It's not that easy."

"Yes it is. Just look in my eyes." Frank coached. "Don't look anywhere else. It's just you and me."

"Frank I--,"

He cut her off before she could freak herself out more by vocalizing her thoughts. He needed to take her mind away from itself. "It's just you and me, and all we care about is each other because I'm about to tell you how much I love you and how I can't even imagine going back to a life where I won't get to see you every day. There's no reason for us to be scared because the moment is so unbelievably perfect."

Nancy's eyes closed as Frank leaned in and his lips met hers. The kiss was the polar opposite of the one she had experienced earlier. The rest of the world started to melt away as Frank had been suggesting just moments before. All she could focus on was the feeling the passion and all the emotion within the kiss. Then, just as quickly, she was back in the real world, when the barrel of a gun was pressed to the back of her skull.

**NDHB**

Joe wanted quite badly to tell his cabdriver to speed up, but knew that it would be a bad idea. He had already encouraged the idea several times, and while the driver had accelerated after the first couple of requests, he had then started getting annoyed with the demand, and Joe certainly didn't want to press his luck. The last place he had been to before this, a bathroom stall in the back of a Starbucks, had been the location of a GPS. He could only hope that the location it was bringing him to was Frank's.

He had hailed a cab and once the drive had started, he had called the police, to be on the safe side. While the police had assured him, they would be on their way, he had yet to see a sign of single car despite the fact that the GPS claimed they were only moments away from the location. Joe was not assured in the slightest that things would go well.

Then, the cab pulled to a stop, and Joe's attention was ripped from the GPS. "What's going on?"

"There's some sort of roadblock." The cabbie answered.

Joe looked ahead and sure enough, there was a rather large blockade of police vehicles just ahead. Off the side of the road he could see a pair of black SUVs and a cluster of people, two of which were kneeling on the ground. Several police officers appeared to be in a stand-off with the other people. Joe hurriedly reached into his pocket and pulled out some cash, throwing it to the front of cab with the driver. "Thanks for the ride."

As fast as he could, Joe got out of the cab and started to run to the blockade. An officer had noticed him, and was heading towards him, presumably to stop him, when a gunshot exploded through the air.

Joe's head snapped back to the scene where he had noticed the standoff. At first he couldn't see any difference in the scene, and then he saw one of the standing men fall to the ground, and the police began to rush in to secure everything.

"Sir, you can't go through here." The police officer that had been coming towards him said.

"I called this in." Joe explained quickly. "My brother's out there."

"You're the other one." The officer nodded in recognition.

"The other one?"

"We had a similar call, except involving a young woman." The officer explained briefly. "Come on. You can wait with her until this is sorted out."

Joe, knowing that there was no way he was in the position to argue otherwise, and that the other woman he would be waiting with was probably Bess, followed the officer without a comment. He was lucky to get as much leeway as he was. A short walk later, and he could see his friend, pacing in a small area. "Bess!"

She looked up. "Joe!" Bess ran over to him, hugging him fiercely. "Thank God you found out Frank was here. I was so worried. I got here with the police and I saw him and I was trying to call you but your phone must be dead or something, because you weren't answering." She pulled away, looking him over, as though to check that he didn't run into any trouble. Satisfied that she was fine, she continued. "The police just shot Eckhart. I couldn't really see but I'm pretty sure that Frank and Nancy are both fine. They should be over here soon."

"Eckhart left a GPS at the next clue place." Joe explained how he had known where to go. He made a mental note to check his phone the next minute he had the opportunity. "It brought me straight here."

"So he was telling the truth."

"He was probably just planning on killing us too once we got here." Joe shook his head. "He was probably counting on the fact that we'd go with his warning about the police and come alone."

"And you have no idea how glad I am that you guys didn't. Although we're going to have to talk about the fact that you were cutting it so close."

Joe and Bess turned at the third voice, and were both very happy to see Frank and Nancy, looking tired, and a bit beaten, but very much alive.

**NDHB**

"Well, that was quite the adventure." Joe announced as the foursome exited the police car and entered their hotel. It was now nearly three in the morning, but they had completed their business with giving their statements, which left them free to enjoy the rest of the time they had scheduled in Vegas, given that Bergeron had already been arrested, making the hotel at least mostly safe to return to. "I can't believe he held a grudge for that long."

"No kidding." Bess shook her head. "You guys broke up his old drug ring when you were sixteen, and he didn't even get arrested."

"The important thing is that it's over." Frank cut in. "And we can relax."

Joe nodded, jumping up to match strides with Bess. "You know, I can't decide if I should eat first or sleep. Both sound so appealing."

"I don't think I could sleep if I tried." The way Nancy rubbed at her face tiredly, and then tightened the fit of the windbreaker she had been given by the police, said otherwise.

"I definitely could." Bess announced. "Chasing after clues to rescue you people is exhausting. Someone buy me an ice cream sundae and send me up to a queen sized bed. You won't see me for about a day, but I can guarantee I'll be much happier when I emerge."

"Same for me, but replace the sundae with a big, greasy, cheeseburger." Joe said.

Frank hung at the back of the group with Nancy while Joe and Bess continued to fantasize about how they could best recuperate from the recent events, looking over at Nancy, clearly concerned. "Hey, are you OK?"

"I—I'm fine." Nancy answered softly. She shook her head and pulled her hair away from her face. "Just—I'm fine."

"No you're not." Frank stopped walking, and Nancy followed suit. "What's on your mind?"

Nancy hesitated before she answered. The hotel lobby wasn't very empty. She wasn't all that surprised considering the city that they were in, but it gave her some pause about answering, as did the topic, despite the fact that she knew that the only one who could care at all about what she said was Frank. "About what happened out there in the desert..." She trailed off, but her tone held enough weight to let Frank know that she meant to say something else with the idea.

Frank thought for a moment about where she could be going with it, and decided to go with what he thought was the most likely problem she might have had with what he had done. "Nancy, that was just something that--,"

"Hey guys." Joe turned around, finally catching on that the two had stopped walking with them. "How would you guys feel about going to find some hole-in-the-wall diner for an early breakfast before we turn in for the night?" He posed the question, seemingly oblivious to the moment that his brother was involved in.

Bess grabbed onto Joe's arm. "Joe, why don't you and I just go up to your room, order up some room service, and put a crappy movie on?" She suggested starting to pull him away. "We'll talk to you guys later." She added, throwing the comment in Nancy and Frank's direction.

"But won't they want to come?" Joe asked.

Bess sighed as though the situation was obvious. "They need a little bit of alone time."

Frank turned back to Nancy as his brother and Bess left the lobby. "She's right. Why don't we take Joe's suggestion and go find that diner?"

"Sounds like a plan."

**NDHB**

Thoughts?

Teaser for next chapter: "We're probably going to want to put off telling everybody for a little while."


	6. It's Oh So Quiet

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them. I also do not own or am affiliated with any pop culture references that I may choose to include.

Author's notes: As always, thanks for the reviews and all the feedback. For those of you who are more than a bit confused about what happened out in the desert, I apologize. I thought I had included enough explanation, but it's times like these where being my own editor screws me over a bit. When you come up with things, no matter how you put them they tend to seem obvious. Here's what happened:

After leaving Joe, Bess called the police, and with the help of Nancy's bracelet they began a mad rush to the desert execution location. They arrived their at about the same moment that Eckhart was putting the gun to Nancy's head, and instead of shooting her right away like the smart bad guy would do, Eckhart started grandstanding with the police (as his ego dictated to him) leading to the standoff that Joe noticed. Eventually, one of the police officers was able to get a shot off and hit him. Frank and Nancy weren't hit, because there was a substantial height difference between them and Eckhart, given that they were kneeling and he was standing. After that Eckhart's men didn't put up much of a fight and it was the police to the rescue.

I hope that's a bit clearer.

**It's Oh So Quiet**

"So..." Nancy started. Her fork went down to her plate with a noise that seemed much louder than a fork hitting a plate should. Despite her general desire to not approach the subject at all, she knew it was time to talk about what had happened. After all, they had already started the conversation once, and while it had been easy enough to not talk about it when they were on their way to the small diner, now that they were their, and alone it was harder to avoid. You could only put off a conversation by filling yourself up with an obscene amount of various types of pie for so long before it just looked like you were trying to avoid the subject. Even so, she had no idea how to start, and was hoping that Frank might jump in and help her out.

"Nancy, when Eckhart had us handcuffed out there, I said a lot of things." Frank never failed to disappoint her. "Some of them being things that were, paradoxically enough, appropriate and inappropriate at the same time for the situation. And of course there's the matter of us kissing. We never have had good timing when it comes to that though."

After he spoke, Nancy found that her thoughts were a bit more cohesive, and she found it much easier, or at the very least, less non-sequitur to ask her question. "Did you mean it?"

"What I said or the kiss?" Frank's answer was less than reassuring and it threw her off once more.

"Either. Or Both." Nancy stammered. "Or I guess I know well enough about the kiss, I was on the receiving end of that and felt it decently enough but...What you said." She finally finished on a decisive note. Her cheeks started to flush. "Did you mean all of those things that you said?"

After a dragged out moment's silence, Frank answered. "Yes."

"Everything?" Nancy raised an eyebrow.

"That's generally implied by 'all those things'."

"Even that whole part about loving me and not being able to imagine a life where you won't get to see me every day?"

"I didn't think you'd be quoting me on it, but yeah." Frank started to get a bit nervous; Nancy's questioning wasn't all that encouraging and the somewhat queasy look on her face was a bit of a blow to his ego. "Is that a problem?"

Nancy's eyes widened. She hadn't, for one reason or another, thought that he would think that. "No. I, uh...this is just the kind of thing that I want to be confirmed before I go off on how I...love you too."

Frank reached across the table and took one of her hands into his. "Nancy, when I said that I loved you, I meant it. I don't know when exactly I started loving you, because it's apparently not the sort of thing that just jumps out and announces itself, but, and as fair warning this is going to sound unbelievably shallow, when I first saw you walk into the room to play in the poker tournament, you took my breath away. You looked amazing and I was suddenly all-too-aware of just how much I missed you because when I realized that I was seeing you and that we would be together again, a hole in me that I didn't quite realize was there was suddenly fixed. And I realized that there's no way that I could not love you.

"Telling you when I did was probably one of the more stupid things I've done. I mean, let's face it. We have a bad habit of just dismissing things that we do when we think we're about to die as getting caught up in the moment. But I said it because I'd spent the past few days wondering if I should just pull you aside to some candlelit dinner in a little Italian restaurant to tell you that the reason I was so against you doing practically anything with this case was because of what I was feeling, and I couldn't imagine dying and not telling you how I really felt.

"So, I guess a much shorter answer to your question would be, yes. I love you. And now that I realize that, I can't imagine not being able to see you everyday."

"Wow." Nancy exhaled a long breath and drew her hand back. She took a moment to organize her thoughts. "You know, it's kind of funny that you think telling me then was so stupid. If you had done it at any other time, I probably would have just dismissed it. Things with me have been so...off lately that it's just been easier for me to just ignore my emotions and I'll have you know that I was doing a damn good job until this whole, brilliant, mind-numbing revelation thing. I guess you know how that part feels. I mean, your description was...more than accurate. It was the same for me except that for me it wasn't your grand entrance in some trampy outfit that forced me to own up to it.

"When we were kneeling in the desert I was scared out of my mind, and I couldn't imagine how anything was supposed to make the fact that we were about to die OK. But then I did what you were asking. I looked into your eyes. And I saw everything. Every touch, every time you've held my hand, every time you've ever looked at me and smiled. And even though I still really didn't want to die I thought, 'You know, if this has to happen, at least I'm with him.'

"Then when we kissed, I just knew that if by some off chance we made it out of there alive that I wanted to be able to have that feeling everyday. You know, without the impending death. Because without that, everything was perfect." Nancy stopped, took a deep breath, and sighed. It was a bit of a relief to get everything out. Then she laughed. "You know, what we just said were the makings of some pretty decent wedding vows."

"What if they were?"

Nancy stopped laughing at the somewhat inspired look in Frank's eyes. "Frank, what are you thinking? You have that look in your eye."

"What look?"

"That look that says, 'I'm about to do something that no one would believe I would do because it's crazy and not a lot of people think that I'm that crazy.'"

"Well..." Frank hesitated for the slightest of moments. "What if they were our wedding vows?"

If Nancy had chosen that moment to take a drink, she was almost positive that it would have just been spewed across the table into Frank's face. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Frank, are you saying that we should get married? Like, now?"

"You're right." Frank shook his head. "It's crazy. I mean, we haven't even been on a date yet. Getting married would be--,"

"Absolutely perfect."

This was not what Frank was expecting. "Really?"

"Yeah. What good is dating going to do us?" Nancy asked. "We already know that we love each other, and we've known each other forever. And I think we learned well enough today, or yesterday now I guess, that we're not exactly in the safest of professions. Why should we waste time dating when we already know that we don't want to be with anyone else?"

"Really?"

"Of course."

Before either could form another thought their waitress came over. "Can I get you kids anything else tonight?"

Frank turned to face her. "Just the bill please. Oh, and could we borrow your yellow pages?"

"Coming right up." The waitress left just as quickly.

"The yellow pages?" Nancy raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's going to be easy enough finding a twenty-four hour chapel, but I figured we should have the address of the marriage license bureau." Frank explained.

Nancy smiled. "We're really doing this? We're getting married?"

"I think that's the plan."

"Could we run back to the hotel first so I can get a shirt that isn't all torn to pieces?"

Frank smirked a little. "Don't go all high maintenance on me now, Drew."

**NDHB**

"You're in luck." The clerk at the chapel smiled at Frank and Nancy. "There's no one else here, you can go straight in. Will you need someone else to witness the ceremony?"

Frank and Nancy glanced at each other smiling, a little in awe of the fact that they were doing this. "That would be helpful." Nancy answered for the two of them.

"I will join you in just a moment then." The clerk was not fazed at all by the request. "Just let me straighten things up here. You go on in, and get to know Len. He'll be performing your ceremony."

The couple did as they were instructed and entered a small, rather tastefully decorated chapel. Sitting towards the front was a young looking man, who they presumed was Len. Upon their entrance he stood, and smiled. "Welcome to the Little White Chapel." Once he got a closer look at their slightly beaten faces his eyes widened a little. "Whoa. Did they add a wrestling match to the marriage license application process?"

Nancy blushed. "It's been a long day," was the only the answer she provided. "But things are definitely looking up."

"Well, obviously you're here to get married. "I'm Len Brooks." He held out his hand.

"Nancy Drew."

"Frank Hardy."

"It's wonderful to meet you. Are you looking for any specific sort of ceremony?"

"I don't think so." Frank glanced over to Nancy to be sure, but he couldn't think of anything that they would require.

"And do you have rings?" At the two's slightly alarmed look Len held up a hand. "Don't worry about it. They aren't actually necessary, and it's easy enough to edit that part out. Will you be saying your own vows, or do you just want to go with our standard set?"

"We'll go with what you have." Nancy answered. The two had decided that while their diner confessions had worked rather nicely for them, they wouldn't seem quite so perfect to any random stranger who didn't know them.

Len nodded. "All right then. It looks like we're going with a slightly edited version of our standard ceremony then. And is Lacy going to be your witness?"

"I am." The clerk entered the chapel, closing the doors behind her. She hurried up the front and everyone began to arrange themselves. Len stood at the very front on a small raised level, and Nancy and Frank stood in front of him while Lacy stood just off to the side.

"It looks like we're all ready then." Len clapped his hands together and then looked down at Frank and Nancy. "Last chance to back out. No? All right then." With a deep breath, he transformed into a more serious character. "Marriage is the supreme sharing of experience and an adventure in the most intimate of human relationships. It is the joyous uniting of a couple whose comradeship and mutual understanding have flowered into romance. Today, Frank and Nancy proclaim their love to the world and we who are gathered here rejoice with them and for them in the new life they now undertake together.

"Marriage is the promise of hope between two people who love each other sincerely, who honor each other as individuals, and who wish to unite their lives and share the future together. In this ceremony, they dedicate themselves to the happiness and well-being of each other, in a union of mutual caring and responsibility. We rejoice with them that out of all the world they have found each other; and that they will henceforth find the deeper meaning and richness of human life in sharing it with each other.

"Your marriage requires 'love.' When we love, we see things other people do not see. To see with loving eyes is to know inner beauty and to be loved is to be seen and known as we are known to no other. When you give yourself, heart and mind, into the hands of the one you love, you receive that most precious of gifts - the life and love of another. We are loved when another human being wants us, wishes to share their life with us, accepts us, without qualification or reservation, not as perfect, but as human, with strengths and weaknesses.

"Love endures only when the lovers love many things together and not merely each other. When they share the same values, hold the same interests. You will need to be able to trust one another and learn, as well, to depend on one another. Do not forget the love that you share today, try to continue to show your appreciation and admiration on a daily basis throughout the rest of your lives.

"And now, for the vows. Frank, if you would repeat after me. Nancy, I take you to be my lawfully wedded wife."

Frank took Nancy's hand into his. "Nancy, I take you to be my lawfully wedded wife."

"Before this witness I vow to love you and care for you as long as we both shall live."

"Before this witness I vow to love you and care for you as long as we both shall live."

"I take you, with all your faults and your strengths,"

"I take you, with all your faults and your strengths,"

"As I offer myself to you, with my faults and my strengths."

"As I offer myself to you, with my faults and my strengths."

"I will help you when you need help."

"I will help you when you need help."

"And will turn to you when I need help."

"And will turn to you when I need help."

"I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life."

"I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life."

Len angled himself towards Nancy, and they repeated the process for her to say her vows. "Frank and Nancy, now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there is no more loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are one heart in two bodies, and there is only one life before you. Now you enter into the days of your togetherness . . . May those days be good, and long, upon this earth.

"By the powers vested in me by the laws of the State of Nevada, I pronounce that you are husband and wife. Frank, you may now kiss Nancy."

The two shared a kiss that had more happiness than any other kiss they had ever shared. They were married.

**NDHB**

Nancy and Frank had only been asleep for a brief period of time, despite the fact that it was nearing nine in the morning, when Nancy started to wake. There was a rather annoying high pitched ringing coming from some direction that she couldn't quite detect, and it was refusing to stop. A glance over at Frank told her that it wasn't bothering him in the slightest. With a light groan she forced herself to sit up. She gathered one the tangled sheets and started to wrap herself in it, before she stood and started to groggily search for her jeans, where her phone most likely was.

When they had arrived back at the hotel they had booked another room, so they wouldn't be interrupted by either Bess or Joe, and although their hadn't been any torrid ripping off of clothes, their early morning had been passionate enough that their clothes had ended up in several locations.

It was another moment later when she located her jeans, and after fumbling with the pockets, she finally managed to find the one that held her phone. "Hello?" She made her way back over to the bed and sat down on the edge. "No Bess, we're fine...I'm sorry I didn't call to let you know I wouldn't be back. Tell Joe I'm sure that Frank is sorry too...What am I doing?...Well I _was_ sleeping...Breakfast?... Tell you what, Frank and I found an excellent diner last night. It was called the 5 and Diner...why don't we meet you there at 9:30?...OK, we'll see you then." Nancy hung up the phone.

By now, Frank was stirring, and he pushed himself up onto his elbows. "Who was that?"

"Bess." Nancy leaned down and they kissed. "We're going to meet her and Joe for breakfast back at that diner in about half an hour."

"Why don't you hop in the shower then." Frank suggested. "I'll join you in a minute once I'm more awake."

Nancy started to pull herself off of the bed once more. "If you join me we'll never make it on time."

"I guess you have a point." Frank spoke again when Nancy had started the water. "You know, it just occurred to me, Bess and Joe...or anyone for that matter...they don't know that we did this. They're going to flip."

"It's kind of hard to predict if it will be a good flip out or a bad flip out." Nancy called as she stepped into the shower, hoping that the hot water was going to give her the energy that barely an hour of sleep could. "Do you think we should tell them?" She asked. "Not that I'm saying we should keep _us_ a secret, but it would be pretty easy for the marriage itself to be secret."

"And what? When the time seems a bit more reasonable we have an elaborate fake ceremony with everyone present?"

"You're right. It's chickening out. We'll sit them down and tell them what happened." Nancy's phone rang again. "Could you get that please?" A few minutes later Frank entered the small hotel bathroom. "I thought we just agreed you weren't going to be joining me." She ducked her head out in front of the shower curtain, grinning impishly. The more serious look on Frank's face dampened her spirits. "What's wrong?"

"We're probably going to want to put off telling everybody for a little while." Frank announced. "That was Josie."

"What?" Nancy frowned shutting off the water, and reaching out to grab a towel. "How did she get my number?"

"I don't know." Frank shrugged. "She wants to hire us. One of the girls at Eckhart's place is dead."

"Has she called the police?"

"Not yet. She wants to hire you to look into it."

**NDHB**

Thoughts?

I know, not a whole lot of Bess and Joe. But they'll be back in full force next chapter. And a bit more rationale is coming.

I looked into the wedding process for Las Vegas, and the only thing I really took liberties for is the fact that the marriage license bureau isn't open at four in the morning. I took the ceremony and the vows that Frank and Nancy used from a website, because I'm not that creative when it comes to that stuff. Let me know if you would like a link to it.

Teaser for the next chapter: "I don't suppose that you're licensed to practice in Nevada?"


	7. Unbelievable

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them. I also do not own or am affiliated with any pop culture references that I may choose to include.

Author's Notes: Thanks for all the feedback. I'm glad you all enjoyed the fact that I had a spontaneous moment for Frank and Nancy.

**Unbelievable **

"So just so I'm clear, are we bringing up Frank and Nancy's dubious activities last night, or are we letting them bring it up?" Joe asked Bess with an impish grin. The two were entering the hotel lobby, on their way to the Five and Diner. They had woken up together, having fallen asleep watching the movie that Bess had suggested, and were somewhat, but not entirely, surprised that Frank was not in the room; Bess had had the strong feeling that _something_ was finally going to happen between Frank and Nancy. They had been a bit more surprised, however, that when Bess had returned to her room in order to change her clothes, Frank and Nancy weren't there. A slight moment of panic had followed until Joe, in a momentary stroke of brilliance had suggested calling them. That had solved that issue and had left them with the question of just how well Frank and Nancy had gotten along for the rest of the night.

"Oh, I think we're going to nail them." Bess was not looking at Joe when she spoke. Her focus was on the elevator bank across the lobby, where Frank and Nancy were exiting, Frank with his arm around Nancy's shoulder. "They were in the hotel. I can't believe she didn't say anything. And if she thinks that wearing a different shirt is going to keep me from noticing that they're wearing Double Delight outfits, then she has another thing coming."

"Double Delight outfits?" Joe raised an eyebrow.

Bess shrugged. "You know. Clothes that you wear two days in a row because you spent the night...being delighted." She shook her head. "Did they really think they were going to hide it?"

"You don't think that maybe Nancy just didn't want to be walking around in a ripped shirt?"

"Oh, there you go, being all logical again. That's twice today. If you're not careful you'll steal Frank's title of the rational Hardy."

"I guess I've been a bit liberal with the common sense this morning." Joe paused and his hands went into his pockets. "So seriously. Are we talking about it or not?"

"Of course we're talking about it." Bess started to walk towards them, not bothering to wait and see if Joe was following her. "How else am I going to embarrass them?"

"Bess, they aren't the easiest people to embarrass." Joe warned.

Bess scoffed. "Please. Everyone is easy to embarrass. You just have to know what buttons to push." A moment later and she met up with Frank and Nancy at the doors, and stepped in front of them with Joe at her heels. "I'm going to assume by the rather satisfied smiles and the way his arm is draped comfortably around you that Frank is at the very least a mildly talents lover."

"Bess!" Joe admonished, choking back his laughter while Frank and Nancy blushed and sputtered.

Bess, however, had a long practiced look of innocence. "What? I made a simple statement."

"Don't you think it was a little personal?" He asked.

"No. Personal would be asking Nancy if the length of Frank's pe--,"

"OK." Nancy hurried forward, cutting off her friend, her own voice an octave or two higher than usual. "Bess, we can have a nice, long discussion about this later. When we're alone." She emphasized, grabbing on to Bess' arm and leading her out the door. "Now come on. We have to grab a quick breakfast."

Bess turned her head to grin at Joe. "I told you I could embarrass them."

"Yes, you did it masterfully." Joe nodded. Then he turned his attention to slightly more important matters. "Why does breakfast have to be quick?"

Frank hastened his steps for a few seconds to catch up with Nancy. He grabbed onto her hand and they started to walk in stride. "We're going to le Chateau d'Amour."

"We as in all of us, or we as in you and Nancy?" Joe asked.

"Yeah. Is this some sort of a kink thing?" Bess smirked.

"Yes." Nancy deadpanned. "Frank and I had so much sex last night that we've already lost interest in one another and we want to go and have a threesome with a prostitute to spice things up." She rolled her eyes. "We're all going. Unless either of you are opposed to working a murder case to help out Josie."

Bess' eyes bugged out. "She's dead?"

"No, she's fine." Frank assured. "She's hiring us. One of the girls at the house has been killed."

"Oh good. Nothing like a murder case after an attempt on our lives." Joe quipped. "You guys do realize that the guy who was shot when he was trying to kill you owned the establishment that we want to investigate at and there are probably some rather angry and vengeful henchmen that will be there."

"Given the fact that this is a murder, so will the police." Nancy reasoned. "And in all likelihood, they won't want us on the case, and unless they're completely blowing it we're not going to force the issue, but this will give us an opportunity to actually talk to Josie. Hopefully I'll be able to convince her to call her parents, or at the very least come up with an explanation that's true that won't break their hearts."

Bess smiled, crossing in front of Nancy to Frank's other side. She hooked her arm through his. "In that case, Frank and I will enjoy a nice long breakfast and Joe can go with you."

"Oh really?" The three detectives spoke in unison.

"Well, if we're not really going to investigate this murder then we hardly need four of us to go there." Bess explained. "I for one hold no desire to see any dead bodies, or remnants of dead bodies, or, quite frankly, going somewhere that sleazy in general. And I'm not going to have breakfast alone."

Joe clapped a hand onto Nancy's shoulder. "Well, you heard the girl."

"I guess I'll see you in a little bit." Nancy stopped walking and turned to face Frank.

"All right. Stay out of trouble." Frank sighed. "And Joe," He looked at his brother, a warning expression already on his face. "Don't get distracted." His focus went back to Nancy. "Keep him away from the girls." He instructed.

Nancy smiled. "I'll do my best."

**NDHB**

Joe glanced over at Nancy from his position in the passenger seat. She had volunteered to drive, and given that he had spent the previous day having his fair share of adventures in the rental, he has more than happy to oblige. It was with some concern that he regarded the death grip she had on the steering wheel. Joe figured that it might have something to do with where they were going; he had seen enough of the video yesterday to know basically what she had been through. Instead of talking about it, he had a feeling that the better course of action would be to distract her.

"So...you and Frank." He waggled his eyebrows, hoping she might catch it out of the corner of her eye. Telling him to be more mature generally relaxed Frank and Joe wondered if the same practice would work with her.

"What about me and Frank?" Nancy asked with a tone that mixed innocence and blankness.

Joe sighed. "Are you two together now, or what?"

"Of course we are. I thought that was pretty obvious by the goodbye kiss."

"You would think that, but the two of you have always been so touchy-feely that it was kind of hard to be sure." At Nancy's somewhat amused face he paused. "Seriously though? Good for you. I'm happy for you guys. You're good for each other."

After a short silence Nancy spoke with a raised eyebrow. "That's it? No lecture?"

Joe laughed. "What would I lecture you on?"

"I don't know. You're his brother. Aren't you supposed to go off on a spiel about how if I hurt him you'll hurt me and all that stuff?"

"First of all, you're a girl, and as such I have been biologically programmed to never even raise a finger to wag at you." Joe started. "And second of all, I don't think that it would be possible for you to hurt Frank."

Nancy briefly glanced over to him. "Joe..."

Joe held up hand to cut her off. "Now I'm not saying that you couldn't physically hurt him, because I'm sure that when properly motivated you could kick anyone's ass. What I'm saying is, I don't think that you could ever do anything that would make him want me to hurt you. Not to scare you off or anything, and don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure that he loves you, and even if you were to do something that did hurt him, which I doubt that you would, Frank's not the type of guy to get angry with someone that he loves."

Nancy smiled, her eyes twinkling. "That's very sweet Joe. I'll keep that in mind. But just so you know, I don't plan on hurting Frank." She turned the car into the parking lot of le Chateau d'Amour.

Joe was a little surprised at the lack of police vehicles or any other vehicle that was there, but he surmised quickly that they had probably already done their work. "So what exactly is our plan?"

"I'm going to go in and talk to--," A rap on the window cut Nancy off. She turned to see who it was and found herself face to face with the same brunette who had come to her rescue the day before. "Josie." She flicked the switch to lower the window. "Josie," she greeted somewhat awkwardly, "umm...how are you?"

"OK under the circumstances." Josie didn't spend much time in front of the window, instead opting to go around to the back of the car and getting in. "I mean first Rich gets shot and now this whole mess with Katie...what about you? I mean Rich had picked you up by then. Were you with him when it happened?"

Nancy winced at the girl's lack of knowledge on the subject. "You could say that. He was trying to--,"

"That must have been terrible." Josie cut her off again. "I hope you don't mind me coming out here, but things are wicked hectic with everything inside with all that's happened and it would be pretty frowned upon for me to bring you guys into one of the rooms without charging you so...who's your friend Nancy? Is this that Frank I talked to on the phone? He's even cuter than I imagined."

Joe held out his hand. "I'm Frank's brother, Joe. And thank you."

"Well, it's nice to meet you." Josie practically purred. She then turned back to Nancy. "Now, I called you here because I wanted you to help me out with this Katie situation."

Nancy frowned. "To be honest with you Josie...that's not why we came."

"But that's what I called you about. Why else would you come out here?"

"I'm here in Vegas because your parents hired me to find you." Nancy explained. "I came out here this morning to talk to you and make sure that you really know what you're doing."

"Of course I know what I'm doing." Josie rolled her eyes. "I'm wearing skimpy outfits and having sex to be paid a ridiculous amount of money. But I can't believe you. I thought you were here yesterday because you were going to be Rich's new girl and you're investigating me?"

"To be fair, at the time she was going to be Rich's new girl." Joe cut in. "And she's only investigating you because your parents are worried about you. They think that something bad might have happened to you."

"Well, you can assure them that I'm fine." Josie smiled sweetly. "The only bad thing that could have happened to me was with Katie, and for the most part that's all taken care of. The rest of it will be taken care of if you help me."

Nancy shook her head. "I don't think so Josie."

"Look, if this is a conflict of interest thing, I'll call my parents so your work for them will be over. And I'll pay you double your normal rate. Trust me. I have the money."

"It's not a conflict of interest thing. I just don't think that we'll be able to give you the help that you want."

"All right." Josie reached down her shirt and pulled out a business card. She handed it up to Joe. "If you or your brother change your minds, come and find me." She started out of the car. "Bye guys."

**NDHB**

"I'm guessing by the fact that either you or Nancy denied anything that I said this morning that you're together now." Bess said as they exited the diner to go back to the hotel and await Nancy and Joe. They had spent the entire breakfast on mostly meaningless small talk that avoided any real discussions on anything. Bess had always picked the topics; she enjoyed lulling people into a false sense of security.

Frank nodded. "You're guessing right."

"Well it's about time. I swear, the way that you two have been dancing around each other for years, it was like you were filming your own remake of Moonlighting." She teased. "You two will be very happy together."

"I certainly hope so."

"Although, I feel that as Nancy's best friend and only somewhat familial representative here in Las Vegas at the current moment I'm obligated to tell you that if you in any way cause Nancy any emotional harm or are the reason for her getting into a situation where she is physically harmed in any way, shape, or form, I will have to end you extremely slowly and painfully. And if you want any proof of that I have several ex-boyfriends who will attest to my skills." Bess smiled sweetly. "Now, what are your plans for the rest of your trip, now that you're all done with your case?"

**NDHB**

"So, how were things out at le Chateau?" Frank asked Nancy. The two of them were finishing up their room service lunch in the room they had taken out the night before.

Nancy wrapped the fuzzy hotel bathrobe a little bit tighter around herself; eating lunch had not been their first activity. "Oh, they were enlightening." She answered dully. "It turns out Josie really did want to be a call girl, and she thinks that Eckhart is just a little bit misunderstood."

"Joe thinks that it might be worth looking into that murder for her."

"He's more than welcome to. I'm not touching that case with a ten foot pole."

"That seems a little harsh for an old friend."

"Frank, that woman is not my old friend. And I just don't think that this case is the sort of thing that I want to be involved in."

"Joe said that it sounded like she could really use our help."

"Well, no offense to your brother, but he spent the entire time flirting with her." Nancy stood, annoyed at the way the discussion seemed to be heading. "I don't want to be get involved with any business with her. I don't trust her, and I don't think that she wants us to do what Joe thinks she wants us to do."

Frank also stood. "Nancy, don't take this the wrong way, but are you sure that you aren't just avoiding the case because you're upset that you misjudged this girl."

"Of course not!" She shook her head. "I'm not that petty. My instincts are telling me that this case is going to lead to something really bad, and I don't want to get involved in that."

"But Nancy, your instincts have been wrong before. They've been wrong pretty recently."

Nancy felt her temper flare at the insinuation and bit back her reply. She began to walk around the room, gathering her clothing. "I'm not going to work on this case. If you guys want to go right ahead. Now, I think that we should spend the night in our old rooms."

"Wait, what? Why? Are you mad at me?"

"Not at the moment. But if this keeps up, I will be. We've both gotten about five hours of sleep in the past three or four days. We're exhausted, and our tempers are short. I don't want to fight. We need sleep if we're going to have a rational discussion, and if we spend the night together all we're going to do is have sex." She started to pull on her underwear and jeans beneath her robe.

Frank shook his head. "That's not true. We don't have to--,"

"Trust me." Nancy slipped out of the robe and reached for her bra. "If I'm in the same bed as you right now, I am not going to want to sleep. It's one night. And we'll both be happier for it." She pulled her shirt over head, and walked over to kiss Frank. "I have to go. I promised Bess we'd go shopping at some point and today seems like as good a day as any."

**NDHB**

"So anyway, I guess it's a good thing that things with Steve didn't work out because if they had I doubt I would have realized that I--," Bess cut herself off. She had been explaining her point-of-view of the last few days to Nancy, namely the emotional side of things, as they reentered the hotel after a long afternoon of shopping. "Hi Frank." She smiled at him as he approached, getting up from his position on a small bench. He had been waiting.

"Hi Bess." Frank greeted. "Do you mind if I borrow Nancy for a second?"

"Of course not." Bess took Nancy's bags out of her hands, knowing quite well when a private moment without baggage was imminent. "I'll just head these up to our room. "I'll see you in a bit Nancy. Or at least in the morning when you stop by for fresh clothes."

"I'll be up in a little while." Nancy assured her friend before turning to Frank. "Hi there." She kissed his cheek. "What's up?"

Frank started to lead her outside, next to the fountain that stood in front of the hotel. "I wanted to talk to you." He reached into his pocket.

Nancy immediately caught site of the velvet box in his hand. "Frank, we didn't have a fight. You have nothing to apologize for. And jewelry is most certainly not the way to apologize."

"It's not apology jewelry." Frank shook his head. "It occurred to me, that despite the fact that we have been married for nearly..." He glanced at his watch, "fourteen hours now, that you still don't have any rings."

Nancy's hand flew up to her mouth, surprised at the way tears seemed to jump to her eyes. "Frank, you didn't have to--,"

"I wanted to." He thumbed at a tear. "It also occurred to me," he got down onto one knee, "that I never properly proposed to you. Nancy, even though we're technically already married," he popped the box open, "will you do me the honor of continuing to be my wife?"

"Of course, you big goof."

Frank slipped the rings, a plain, white gold wedding band, and then a flashier engagement ring with blue diamond offset by two white diamonds, also on a band of white gold, onto her left ring finger. He then stood and they embraced, sharing a long and passionate kiss. When they pulled apart he spoke. "I know, since we aren't telling anyone right away that you can't wear them, at least on that particular finger, but I wanted you to have them."

"Thank you so much."

"It's nothing. I love you."

"I love you too." They kissed again. "I'm still spending the night with Bess." Frank groaned. "I don't like it either, but we need to sleep. Besides, that doesn't mean that we can't go back to our room for a little while and have some fun until it's time to go to bed."

**NDHB**

Bess rather unhappily got out of bed. She had woken up only moments before, due to a loud noise that sounded rather computer related, and she almost immediately noticed the yellow of the hotels fluorescent light coming out of the bathroom. A glance at Nancy's bed, which was mysteriously missing its comforter and pillow quickly told her that Nancy was in there. "Nancy, hon, are you sick?" She called out as she made her way to the bathroom.

"No I'm fine." Nancy answered quickly. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I naturally wake up at one in the morning when I'm in the middle of a REM cycle." Bess quipped. When she made it to the bathroom doorway her eyes locked upon Nancy, who had arranged her pillow and comforter in the bathtub to make a sort of makeshift couch that she was sitting on/in while working on her laptop. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I couldn't sleep." Nancy shrugged.

Bess sniffed the air, and then eyed the coffee mug on the edge of the tub. "That's because you're drinking coffee."

"It's decaf." Nancy justified. "Anyway, I wanted to do some work to pass the time, and I didn't want to wake you so I came in here. I didn't realize that the volume was on. I'm sorry. You can go back to sleep now."

"Yeah, no." Bess hoisted herself up so she was sitting on the edge of the counter. "Why can't you sleep? Does this have something to do with your fight with Frank?"

"What fight with Frank?" Nancy frowned.

"Well, you're spending the night here, and you guys only just got together, so I assumed that you had a fight...if you didn't bring it up by tomorrow morning I was going to talk to you about it."

"Frank and I didn't have a fight. We just don't want our entire relationship to be based on sex."

Before Bess could come up with a retort, there was a buzzing noise, and Nancy pulled her cell phone out of the folds of the comforter.

"Hey Joe, what's up?...No, it's all right, you didn't wake me...What did he want?...I'm sorry, could you repeat that I could have sworn that you just said that...OK, you did say that...What happened?...You don't know?...Shit...You call your parents, I'll tell Bess and call my dad. He'll be able to help...As soon as I'm done we'll throw some clothes on and come down to your room, OK?...Don't panic, Joe, we'll figure this out." Nancy hung up the phone.

"What's going on?" Bess asked immediately.

Nancy already had the phone to her ear again, and didn't answer. "Hey dad, it's me. I'm sorry to call so late and wake you up...No, I'm fine...A little bruised, but I promise you that I'm not calling you from a hospital bed...Then why did I call?...It's a funny story really. You see, Bess and I ran into the Hardys while we were working the case...Well...I don't suppose that you're licensed to practice in Nevada?...Let's just say that you need to get the first flight out to Vegas...It's very important...No, I'm not calling you from jail...It's a very long story, that in honesty I don't know all the details to, but we could really use your helps...Thanks so much Dad...I love you too...Call me when you know when you're getting in and I'll pick you up at the airport, OK?...OK, bye."

When Nancy hung up the phone this time, Bess pounced. "Why is your dad coming out here? What the hell is going on?"

"I think Frank and I are going to have that fight." Nancy closed her laptop and stood.

"And you need a lawyer? Why are you going to fight?"

"Because Frank just got arrested for murder."

**NDHB**

Thoughts?

Teaser for the next chapter: "This could be bad."


	8. Serious

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them. I also do not own or am affiliated with any pop culture references that I may choose to include.

Author's Notes: Thanks for all the feedback. Before the chapter starts, I wanted to make a few clarifications based on questions raised by some of the reviews.

In this story the character ages are as follows: Nancy, Frank, and Bess are 21, and Joe is 20. Aside from Nancy and Frank, no one with in the Hardy and Drew circle of friends/family knows that they are married at this point in time. Joe and Bess know that they have gotten together, but not really to what extent.

And, the explanation of where Frank got the money for the rings is coming eventually, just not immediately.

**Serious**

"Wait, what?" Bess slid off the bathroom counter. "Did you just say that Frank was arrested for murder?"

Nancy exited the bathroom, and turned the lights on in the main room. She crouched down to rifle through her suitcase. "Yeah."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because he was."

"What? No way."

"I don't know the whole story. He used his phone call to reach Joe, and all that he said was that he had been arrested, and it would be great if we could help him out."

"Who did he kill?"

"I don't know. We don't even know that he actually killed anyone." Nancy reminded absentmindedly. She removed a clean pair of jeans, a tank top, and a zip-up hoodie. She went into a sort of autopilot, starting to get ready without even thinking about it.

Bess went to her own suitcase. There was no way she was going to miss this. "Do Fenton and Laura know?"

"Joe's calling them now." Nancy had her mouth open to say more, but her phone rang again. "Hi dad...You're booked on the red-eye?...That's great...I'll be there to pick you up..."Nancy hesitated, "Murder. Frank's been arrested for murder...Joe's calling them now...OK...I'll see you when you get in...Thanks dad...I love you too." She hung up the phone and sighed. "My dad's on his way."

"Well, that's good, right?" Bess offered a small smile. "Your dad has never let an innocent man go to jail. Not that Frank's in danger of going to jail." She corrected quickly, a more serious expression returning to her face. "I'm sure that this is just a misunderstanding. Your dad will clear it up in no time."

Nancy removed her travel jewelry box, where she had put her newly acquired rings upon her return to the room earlier in the night. The only real thought that she put into removing the rings and putting them on was that they should go on her right ring finger and not her left. "I hope so." She started to slip into her sweatshirt. "God, I hope so."

**NDHB**

Nancy hugged Joe the moment he opened the door of the hotel room to let her in. "Hey, how are you doing?"

"All right, I guess." Joe sighed. He returned the embrace, and when Nancy disengaged he closed the door. "My parents are getting on the first flight they can find. Frank owes me so big for making me make _that_ phone call." Joe ran a hand over his hair. "The moment I told them, mom burst into tears. It was worse than the time I had to tell them he got shot." He took a deep breath. "Where's Bess?"

"She's grabbing a quick shower. She'll be here in a couple of minutes." Nancy explained. She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder as he sat down on the edge of a bed. "My dad's on his way out. He'll be in at 5:30, and he said that he would call the police, let them know he was on his way, see it they'll let him talk to Frank over the phone, and at the very least learn more about what's going on."

"Thanks for calling him."

Nancy pulled the chair away from the desk and took a seat. "It's not a problem. Now, what the _hell_ is going on?"

"I don't know." Joe shrugged. "When I got back from that show that I went to with Bess I found a note that he left saying that he was going out to le Chateau d'Amour to talk to Josie so he could form his own opinion about taking the case since I was for it and you were against it. I went to bed, and the next thing I know, I'm getting woken up by Frank's legally obligated phone call."

"Fuck."

Despite the fact that Joe had never heard Nancy say such a word, and never really expected her to say it, he couldn't help agreeing that it summed up the situation nicely. "No shit."

"Looks like Frank's going to owe you more than you thought. Oh, and you might want to send me a list of things you want for your birthday."

Joe looked over, mildly interested. "Why's that?"

"Well, you're going to have to explain to your parents why your brother was arrested for murder at a brothel, and I'm going to file a request that you make sure my dad's there when you do it."

**NDHB**

Nancy was proud of herself. She had waited until her father was in the car and they were driving before bringing up the subject about what was going on. Their time inside the airport had been spent with Carson asking how she was and fretting over the starting to fade bruises on her face that she hadn't remembered to try and cover up. After an assurance that she was fine and that she would explain everything once things calmed down a bit, Carson had asked where Joe and Bess were. Nancy had explained that given Joe's general state because of the circumstances that Bess had insisted that he was in no condition to go anywhere, driving or no, and the two had stayed at the hotel to keep each other company. In all, it wasn't so much Nancy's restraint as it was Carson's control of the conversation that had kept the topic away from Frank. "So...did you find anything out when you called the police?"

"More than I anticipated."

"And is that a goof thing or a bad thing?"

Carson seemed almost hesitant to answer. "Some of it's good, and some of it's bad."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"Well, on one hand, his is the first arraignment when court goes into session at eight so we'll be able to post his bail quickly and get him out of there." Carson started. "And I was able to talk to Frank briefly and aside from the expected stress, he sounded like he was doing fine."

Nancy sighed in relief, but quickly realized that all of those things were good. "You mentioned some stuff that wasn't so good."

"I won't be certain about anything until I review all the evidence and I've had a real discussion with Frank." Carson cautioned.

"Dad..."

"If this goes to trial, it's probably not going to be easy."

This was not what Nancy had been hoping to hear. "What exactly is it that happened?"

"The way I understand it, there was an altercation in a parking lot between Frank and some man named Robert Springfield that ended with Frank stabbing Springfield. Do you have any idea who the victim is?"

"The name sounds familiar, but I can't place it." Nancy shook her head.

"We'll table that for now then. To be honest with you Nancy, what I'm most worried about is the fact that he called to bring in help before explaining that it was self-defense."

Nancy's mouth formed a silent "oh".

"Now, I believe him, but doing something like that makes the police, and the DA, suspicious. It didn't help his case any and I wasn't able to ask why he did that over the phone."

"Maybe it has to do with where he was when he was arrested." Nancy muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh, I asked if you knew where he was when he was arrested."

"No, we didn't get to that." Carson paused. "Do you have Joe's number on your phone? I'll need him to bring Frank a suit before the arraignment."

"Yeah." Nancy nodded. "I'll call him in a minute." She shook her head at the way her voice betrayed her emotions. It was certainly difficult to hear Frank being talked about in terms of arraignments. Even though in her heart she knew he hadn't done anything and that between the Drew and Hardy families, no one was going to let him go to prison when he was innocent, she couldn't help but worry and be scared about the situation.

Carson looked to his daughter and placed a reassuring hand on her knee. "How are you holding up? I know you and Frank are close."

"I'm fine dad." Nancy sighed. "I'm just...I'm fine."

**NDHB**

Despite the fact that his fatherly instincts wanted him to hug the young man in front of him, given their long relationship, Carson restrained himself to only shake Frank's hand. After all, he was there representing Frank in a professional capacity, not to mention a serious matter, and not just as a friend. Other than looking tired and a cut on his forehead that Carson suspected was from the previous case as it was relatively healed, he looked no worse for the wear. "Frank," he started as the door to the small interview room closed. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, sir." Frank answered quickly. "Thank you so much for flying out here on such short notice. When I called Joe I was hoping he would just call someone local in. I was pretty sure there wasn't a lot of evidence going one way or another and I wanted to be safe. I didn't think they would call you in."

"It's not a problem, Frank." Carson assured.

"How is everyone?"

"They're worried. Your parents are on their way out." Carson paused briefly. "Now, your arraignment is at eight o'clock. I'd like to go over your version of the night's events so I have a better idea of what the DA's basis of argument will be. Why don't you tell me what it is that you can _without_," he stressed, "incriminating yourself."

"Well, you know that Nancy was in town to find that girl, Josie. We found her, working as a...call girl. She tried to hire us, Nancy, Joe, and me, to deal with a murder that happened at le Chateau d'Amour yesterday. Nancy and Joe both spoke with her and couldn't agree on whether or not we should take the case, so last night I went out to talk to her."

"And to clarify," Carson looked up from the legal pad on which he was taking notes, "le Chateau d'Amour is the establishment at which Josie makes her living."

Frank looked down at his hands when he answered. "Yeah."

"All right, go on."

"Well, I was there to talk to her, and as it turned out, Nancy's instincts were right and Josie only wanted to hire us because she had been the one to kill the other girl and she wanted us to find evidence that would point to someone else. She hasn't been arrested yet, by the way. But...once she told me that I left. I was in the parking lot, about to call the police to turn her in when I felt a gun at my temple. Before I could react, the guy put his arm around my neck."

"Did he say anything?"

"That I was going to pay. The usual revenge spiel. I went for the pocket knife I keep on me, and then I elbowed him in the gut. It was enough to surprise him into releasing his grip on me. I ducked away, and not a moment later, he shot at me. His aim wasn't that great, which only seemed to anger him more. He tackled me, and we wrestled for a bit, but the gun was pointed at my chest soon after we started. I tried to wrestle it from him but he was a lot stronger than me. So I did the only thing I could think of and went back to my knife."

Carson held up a hand. "Frank, before you continue, I want you to be absolutely certain about what you'll be saying. I know you and your brother hate it when a small technicality allows someone who's guilty to go free, and I would certainly hate for the same sort of thing to work in reverse against you."

Frank nodded in understanding, and did as he was instructed, though whether he was in serious thought or he was just humoring him, Carson wasn't sure. "I was still trying to fight him, but was only really succeeding in having the gun pointed back towards my head. I didn't think he was going to wait much longer before pulling the trigger, so I did the only thing I could, and I stabbed him."

"How many blows did it take to reduce the threat?"

"Two. He dropped the gun, and I got out from under him, kicked it away and called the police. By the time I hung up, he was unconscious, so I went back to him to try and control the bleeding. That's where I was when the police got there." Frank sighed and shook his head. "That's what I don't get. I didn't use excessive force; I even called the police and was trying to save the guy's life. That alone, even without the rest of the story should have given them enough pause that they'd wait for my statement before scheduling an arraignment."

"First of all, there's the fact that you called me." Carson started to explain. "Without giving any bit of a statement, or knowing where they stood on you, that looked suspicious, as I'm sure you know."

"And...?"

"They didn't tell me everything, but they've mentioned the fact that you have a connection to the victim and that you have a motive for wanting him dead. Who is he?"

"Last night was the first time that I've seen that guy." Frank insisted. "I can only assume that he wanted me dead because he was one of Eckhart's employees."

Carson thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose we'll find out soon. They're going to come in soon, first to get your side of the story, which I will do the talking for, and then, most likely they'll try and get you to confess before the arraignment. I don't know what sort of tricks that are typical of LVPD but most likely they'll bring up your connection to this guy in the hopes of scaring you. What's important to remember is that no matter what they throw at you, you can't react how they want you to. You're a good read of people. If they want you to get angry, don't get angry. They're going to try and provoke you, and that won't help you at all."

**NDHB**

"Dad, what's going on?" Nancy asked as she pulled out of her father's practically bone crushing embrace. He had found her and hugged her the moment he had exited the courtroom before saying anything else. "Is Frank all right? What's going on?"

"He's on his way to the clerk's office now, we need to head down and take care of his bail." Carson explained mostly to Joe who, had spent most of the time pacing, given that Carson had forbidden them from going into the courtroom during the proceedings, despite Nancy and Bess' attempts to calm him.

The group started to walk. "Then what exactly was the death hug for?"

"The man that Frank killed was the same man who...attacked you when you were in Eckhart's custody." Carson chose his words carefully. "And the police showed him, and me, a video of what happened."

For Nancy, that explained several things. For one, it was why her father was feeling protective. For another, it told her that they weren't allowed in the courtroom because the DA planned to use personal connections and revenge as a motive and even if it was only a bail arraignment; her father did not want them fueling the fire. "I'm fine, Dad."

Bess and Joe, who had both witnessed the video as well both smirked and said a "Go Frank," in unison.

Carson shot the pair a sharp look. "I don't expect to hear anything like that out of your mouths again. The situation may appear less serious since Frank's not stuck in jail anymore, but you may rest assured that it remains very serious. If we don't work something out, this is going to go to trial." The group averted their eyes slightly, feeling slightly diminished from the lecturing parent tone in Carson's voice. "As such, I'm going to request that until the matter is settled, you all do what I ask of you."

"Of course." Joe nodded solemnly, though Nancy was sure that he was already planning a way that he could help out his brother.

"I mean it. None of you are going to investigate this case at all. Every piece of evidence that you get involved with would be tainted by your connection to Frank." Carson continued. "Now Nancy, once the bail is settled, I want you to bring Frank straight to the hotel, and keep him there, no matter what."

"That won't be a problem."

Nancy turned around to give Bess a warning look at the muttered comment before turning back around to her father. "Of course."

"Joe, your parents' flight gets in about forty-five minutes. Once you say hello to Frank, and assure yourself of his condition, you and Bess should go pick them up at the airport and bring them back to the hotel. Straight to the hotel. Bess, I expect you to hold him to that schedule and keep him away from the investigation." Carson instructed. "I'll meet you all at the hotel a little later."

"What are you going to do?" Joe asked.

"I need to reach a few friends of mine out here. If this does end up going to trial, it won't look good if I'm the first chair."

**NDHB**

"Remind me again, is it Neil Diamond or David Cassidy that your father likes. I'm really going to have to get him something to thank him for doing this for me when this is all over." When Nancy didn't answer, Frank knew he was in trouble. He had been attempting to make conversation with her from their exit of the courthouse until now, the start of their drive. If he got a response at all, it had been monosyllabic, and he wasn't entirely sure that after the long night he had had, he was prepared to deal with whatever was to come. Just the same he sighed, and took the plunge. "You're upset."

"Oh no." Nancy's tone was highly sarcastic. "This is exactly how I imagined you meeting my father. 'Dad, hi. This is my husband Frank. Sorry we didn't have you at the wedding. By the way, the night after we got married, Frank went and killed a man in the parking lot of a brothel. It would be really great if you could defend him in his murder trial.'" She mocked the conversation and then sent a quick glare in Frank's direction. "No. I'm absolutely thrilled."

Frank leaned his head back against the headrest. He was not prepared to deal with this. "This could be bad." He brought his head back up. "Nancy, don't you think you're being a bit irrational?"

"Exactly how am I being irrational Frank?"

"Well, for one thing...I already knew your father. For another, it's not like I went there with the intention of killing someone. He tried to kill me first."

"That's very kindergarten of you." Nancy still wasn't impressed.

Frank took a deep breath knowing that getting angry himself and saying the wrong thing would only make the situation worse. "I promise you that I didn't do any of this on purpose."

"Well, you still did it."

"Out of curiosity, did you actually tell your dad that we got married?"

"Trust me. I do not plan on telling him about that event any time soon."

It turned out that Frank didn't need to get angry to make the situation worse.

"Nancy, I don't know what to tell you. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"I know." Nancy sighed. She made a quick decision and pulled the car over. Once it was safely out of traffic, she turned to face Frank. "I'm sorry that I'm flipping out. I just...didn't get much sleep, and I don't handle fatigue very well, and--,"

"I scared you." Frank finished for her. "I figured as much. If you were really mad at me you wouldn't be wearing your rings. And I'm sorry. But like I said, I didn't do it on purpose. And your dad will sort it out. He always does."

Nancy leaned over and kissed her husband, then briefly rested her forehead on his chin. "I wish I had your confidence."

**NDHB**

Thoughts?

Teaser for next chapter: "You know, I've decided that I haven't had enough fun during this trip."


	9. I'd Do Anything

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them. I also do not own or am affiliated with any pop culture references that I may choose to include.

Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review!

**I'd Do Anything**

Bess crumpled the piece of paper and tossed it into the wastebasket. It had been a note, left by Nancy explaining that she was going to go get a bit of a workout in the hotel's gym and then meet everyone in her father's room, which had become the impromptu center of operations, for breakfast. Nancy had spent the night in her old room once more, claiming that not only would she and Frank be needing their sleep, but that it just didn't seem proper for her and Frank to be spending the night together now that their parents were there. Bess wasn't buying it, but who was she to argue?

Bess was surprised that she had noticed the note at all, given that Nancy had simply left it strewn on the bathroom counter, which had been taken over by the two girl's toiletries, makeup, and other various health and beauty aids. Bess was of the opinion that a much better location for the note would have been taped to the mirror, or at the very least on top of Nancy's bedding, which, given its location in the bathtub once more, was extremely noticeable. Fortunately, she had seen the note, and now knew where Nancy was without calling out a search party.

With one last glance in the mirror, and a tightening pull on her ponytail, Bess was satisfied with her appearance, and left the room in favor of making her way to Carson's room. She had spent the majority of the previous day, after returning with Fenton and Laura, sitting in their center of operations and listening to lectures on how important their behavior was going to be during the duration of the case. Despite the fact, or perhaps in spite of the fact that they were adults, the elders wanted everyone on the same page in terms of what consequences certain actions could bring about. As fun as going out and settling things on their own sounded, tainting the evidence by their connection to Frank and sending him to prison didn't sound quite as fun. Bess had dutifully paid attention, even though she knew that the conversation wasn't directed towards her; no one saw her as the kind of girl that would go out and instigate such an investigation.

After her brief journey, Bess knocked on the door of Carson's room. Only moments later, Nancy opened the door and invited her in. "Morning Bess."

"Good morning." Bess glanced around the room, and was slightly surprised to see only Laura and Joe, who sat reading separate sections of the morning newspaper together. "Morning Laura, Joe." She glanced back at Nancy. "Where are the others?"

"Well, my dad and Fenton wanted to get a round of golf in before things got too stressful." Nancy explained. "They wanted Joe to go with them, but _someone_ was too lazy."

"I told you," Joe started in a somewhat annoyed tone, "Golf is not my game. I would have just embarrassed myself out there."

Laura tutted. "The only reason you aren't any good is because you don't practice. You've always given up too easily when you think you aren't good at something."

"Hey!" Joe protested. "How is it that you have another son going on trial for murder and I'm the disappointment?" After the initial stage of being upset over the situation Laura had, in typical Hardy fashion began to treat it as just another little scrape her sons had gotten into, and could a handle a joke or two on the subject. This was a skill that only came from years of living with three men who had a penchant for harrowing trouble.

Bess picked a muffin up off the table, but didn't take a bite out of it. "Maybe it has to do with the fact that, the reason he killed a man is because he didn't give up in the fight for his life." She smiled sassily at Joe, who only shot an annoyed look in her direction. "Where is he anyway?"

"Back in our room. He was still asleep when I left." Joe explained.

"Oh...so what are we doing up here this morning?"

"What else would these two be doing?" Laura asked. "They've been discussing the case."

Nancy slumped back down into her seat. "And we were getting nowhere. As we see it, the only possible lead is with Josie, because she can confirm why Frank was at le Chateau, but there are several problems with that. We can't go talk to her; the initial sweep at le Chateau left the police with claims that there were no witnesses, and Detective Head-Up-His-Ass--,"

"She means Detective Carlisle." Joe interjected somewhat gleefully.

"Won't even look into Frank's claims that she's the one who killed that other girl because of a supposed lack of evidence." Nancy finished. "And she's obviously not going to come forward with anything she knows because she's too worried about getting caught."

Bess thought for a moment; an idea was starting to form in her head. "That is quite the pickle. Talk about being stuck."

"And there won't be any unsticking." Laura warned, glancing at all of the occupants of the room. "Correct?"

"Yes Mom." Joe sighed; it had been a long time since his mother had used that particular tone with him, and it made him feel slightly small.

"Of course Laura." Nancy also nodded.

Bess laughed and scoffed. "Please. Like I'm making that venture."

"That's what I like to hear."

Bess turned back to Nancy. "So, the whole reason that Frank is being charged in the first place is his connection to you? The guy who he killed is the guy in that video of you at le Chateau, right?"

"Uh-huh. The police were supposedly "getting around" to picking him up for what he did, and now they're claiming that Frank took the law into his own hands and tried to make it look like self-defense afterwards."

"Now I remember why I didn't want to spend time in this room. It's so serious." Bess grimaced, although inwardly, her plan continued to develop. She placed her uneaten muffin back on the table. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I am getting seriously sick of this hotel, and since we're not actually stuck here, I am going out."

Joe stood, officially putting his section of the newspaper aside. "I'll come with you. You're right. This place is getting a bit stuffy."

The idea of company did not fit with Bess' plan. "As much as I love hearing the phrase that I'm right, especially coming out of a man's mouth, I don't really think you'd enjoy a mani/pedi, Joe. Unless, your preferences have changed?"

"No, I'm good." Joe sat back down, just as quickly.

"You know, I think I'll go down and check on Frank, take the first shift of distracting him and keeping him out of trouble." Nancy volunteered, standing and wiping off her hands with a napkin. "Joe, you'll call if anything comes up, right?"

Bess wanted to laugh at the imploring look on Nancy's face, knowing exactly what she was trying to imply, but managed to hold back her amusement until Joe's retort.

"As long as you keep your...distractions away from my things."

"And on that note, I'll just head on out."

As Bess left the room, with Nancy on her tail, she overheard Laura say rather pleasantly to Joe, "It looks like it will just be you and me for a while Joe. Why don't we do the jumble together like we used to?"

"That was Frank mom. We read the comics together."

"We can do that, too."

**NDHB**

"Who is it?" Frank asked as he made his way over to the door. He wasn't fully coherent yet, given that the knocking had woken him up, and he could only hope that whatever it was wasn't too important.

"Kiss-o-Gram!"

If he hadn't recognized the voice, the announcement would have been mildly intriguing. Even knowing who it was, he woke up a bit more and opened the door. Standing in front of him was Nancy with a perky smile on her face, clad in sweatpants and an athletic tank top. Frank mock frowned. "I don't think this is the standard outfit for a Kiss-o-Gram."

"Sorry, it's a last minute delivery. Didn't have time to change into the uniform." Nancy apologized, continuing with the joke.

"All right. Fine." Frank sighed. "What's the message?"

"It's from a Nancy Drew. She says, 'Frank, I'm sorry about not being understanding at all yesterday. I was panicked because things weren't going very well, and I kind of wanted a bit longer of a fairy tale moment than I managed to get. That and the fact that between the ages of 18 and 21 I've turned into an old lady and need my eight hours of sleep or I'm just a grouch. So hopefully you'll give me a chance to make it up to you when all of this blows over.'"

"That's it?"

"Well, there's also the most important part of a Kiss-o-Gram."

"Which is?" Frank smiled.

Nancy stepped into the room. "The kiss, silly." She wrapped her arms around Frank's neck, and the two's lips met in a long kiss.

As they broke apart Frank closed the hotel room door. "So, what are you really doing here?"

"Well, for one, I did want to deliver that apology."

"Which I accept." Frank nodded. "You know, I was about one more thing going wrong from getting set off. I can't really fault you."

"I guess you just have a longer fuse than me."

"Yeah, it must be your red-headed temper."

Nancy laughed and playfully slapped Frank's shoulder. "I do not have a temper." She protested.

"Of course not." Frank pulled his wife in closer, back into an embrace. "You're just feisty."

They kissed again, and this time Nancy grabbed onto Frank's collar. With a small tug she brought him forwards, and herself backwards, just enough so that they flopped back onto the bed. "Kind of like that, huh?"

"Exactly like that."

"You know," they kissed again, "to be fair," and the pattern of kissing in between every few words was established, "you should know...that I'm also here...to keep you occupied...and distracted..."

"Oh?" Frank's thumbs started to play with the waistband of her sweats.

"I volunteered."

"And exactly how long do you think that you can keep me occupied?"

A wicked grin crossed Nancy's face. "I don't know. How long do you think you can keep up?"

**NDHB**

Bess calmly instructed her cabdriver to wait for her to come back out The blond made her entrance into le Chateau d'Amour confidently, as though she owned the building, and wasn't just invading the space. An older, but still attractive woman sat behind the front desk.

"May I help you?"

"No, I'll just help myself." Bess smiled falsely. "It's too early for the girls to be with clients, right?" Instead of waiting for an answer, she continued to walk through the house-like building, opening every door she came across; she found a few girls changing and some just sitting around and gossiping, but it wasn't until she reached the door at the very end of the hallway, and the beefy hand of a security guard was planted on her shoulder that she found her conquest.

"Ma'am, you cannot just come back into this part of the house and--,"

"I'm sorry, ma'am?" Bess turned around and raised an annoyed and incredulous eyebrow at the desk woman's lecture. "Do I look like a ma'am to you?"

"What is going on out here?"

Bess faced the door once more, and smiled at the girl who posed the question. "I just wanted to see you, and these guys are getting all fussy."

"Max, Linda. It's cool, she's with me." The girl pulled Bess into the room as the others retreated, the apparent crisis averted. "Bess? What is the deal with you people? First Nancy and then that stupid detective guy? Why are all you guys showing up here? I don't go and make trouble for you at...wherever the hell it is you work."

"Well, I'm in college, but I do work at this little designer boutique..." Bess looked at the girl's outfit of tiny hot pants and an even tinier halter top and frowned critically. "And I have to say that even if you wanted to bother me there, they would not let you in, even if you were sleeping with Richard Gere and had Hector Elizando make a phone call." The girl had the decency to look mildly offended. "But more importantly, I'm here to resolve a little issue we're having Josie."

"Which is?"

Bess crossed her arms over her chest. "It seems that you've been holding back important information from the police."

Josie scoffed a little too confidently. "Like what?"

"Oh, the fact that you killed the girl that died here the other day, the whole trying to hire people to cover it up thing, and the fact that you know Frank killed that guy in self defense." Bess listed. "You have been a _bad_ girl Josie."

"And what are you going to do? Spank me?"

"Actually I was thinking about calling the police, and your parents to let them know what you've been up to. I figure by the time they're through with you, you'll be dying to make a deal and Frank will be on his way to freedom."

"This would be all well and good, except you're forgetting the fact that you don't have any evidence." Josie smirked triumphantly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to finish getting ready."

"And that's where you're wrong." Bess stepped in front of her old friend as she tried to turn away. "I happen to know that there is plenty of evidence for both matters. You see," she propped herself up onto the table that Josie had been using as a makeup a counter and crossed her legs, "the reason that the police think Frank killed that guy out of revenge in the first place is because of a tape that they have. A tape that was filmed in one of these very rooms. A business man like Eckhart was not stupid; this entire place is wired with video equipment. The rooms, the halls, the parking lots, and I'm guessing even the bathrooms. First of all, it helps to ensure your safety, and second...what's a little blackmail among all of the sleazy guys who come here anyways?" She paused, to glance down at her nails and picked at her thumb briefly; she really could use a manicure. "Now, I know you were smart enough to get rid of the tape of you actually killing that girl, but I'm willing to put money on the fact that your little conversation with Frank, as well as his fight in the parking lot are still nice and ready-to-play."

Josie took the challenge easily, and didn't hesitate to go for the threat. "What exactly makes you think that you can get those tapes? You know I've killed before, and you are most certainly smaller than that girl."

"I believe I'll take that as a compliment. And to answer your question, I'm going to take them from you." Bess watched as Josie's hand started to clasp around the base of a small, ugly statue.

"I'd like to see you try." She started to pick the statue up. It was obviously the girl's weapon of choice.

Bess sighed. "I'd love to. You know, I've decided that I just haven't had enough fun during this trip." She slid down off of the table and stood, waiting patiently. Josie made no move. "OK, see I'm the good guy, and you're the bad guy. Good guys stand and wait for the bad guys to make the first move. And this is going to be a really long morning if things don't get moving. So if you could just...I don't know, swing that thing at me or something and get this started, please?"

The lecture was enough to infuriate Josie, and she complied with the request, swinging the statue wildly towards Bess' head.

Bess ducked down to avoid the blow. When she popped back up she grabbed Josie's arm as it continued to follow through on the intended hit, and pulled on it with the right force and angle that Josie was pulled up off of her feet and flipped right onto her back. The statue had a rather satisfying crash as it hit the ground. Bess grabbed onto Josie's other wrist and pulled them both up over the girl's head, holding them firmly.

"OK, listen to me you little bitch," she started, all of the fun and amusement leaving her tone, "you had your fun while it lasted, but now it's my turn. You and I are going to go get those tapes, we're going to go to the police station, and you're going to march your little ass, tapes and all, to Detective Carlisle's desk and turn yourself in. And believe me; if you try to escape, or bring in help, or any of that crap, you will only be making things worse for yourself."

As Bess hauled Josie to her feet and started to lead her out of the room she glanced back at the mirror and smiled. "Not a hair out of place."

**NDHB  
**

Several hours later and everyone was gathered in Carson's room once more, this time to celebrate the fact that the charges against Frank had been dropped. Carson had received the phone call a little after lunch that, a murderer had somewhat suspiciously turned herself in and had brought with her some tapes that were not only evidence in her case, but ended up corroborating Frank's story. The giddiness over the fact that Frank's name was clean was starting to wear off and people were starting to settle a bit more.

"I wonder what made Josie suddenly come clean," Bess remarked nonchalantly, wondering what people's thoughts were; she knew that no one was going to think it had been her doing.

"Who knows?" Fenton shrugged. "Sometimes people just can't handle the guilt of what they've done. I am a little surprised that she brought in evidence with her though."

"Oh, she was always a thorough girl. Probably wanted to save the police the trouble of a search warrant." Bess answered quickly.

Nancy looked over at her friend, getting the feeling that she was ready for a change of topic, even if it had been something that she brought up. "So Bess how was the manicure? It doesn't even look like you had one done."

Bess hurriedly look down at her fingers. "Oh! Wouldn't you know? I couldn't find a single salon with an opening. It's ridiculous. Twenty million open wedding chapels, just waiting for walk-ins, and not a single place to get my nails done."

Frank and Nancy shared a somewhat nervous look. "That's too bad. Maybe we girls should schedule an appointment before we all fly back." Nancy suggested to distance the conversation away from Bess' small tangent.

"That would be wonderful." Laura smiled.

Frank and Nancy's relief was short lived, as the conversation of manicures turned at least Joe's attention to people's hands, and he was quick to make an observation.

"Wow, Nancy. Those rings are pretty nice looking. Did you find the time to make a splurge with your winnings?"

"Oh boy." Nancy bit her lip.

"Winnings?" Carson asked as Bess hurried forward and grabbed onto Nancy's hand, examining the jewelry. "What winnings?"

"Nancy won a poker tournament." Frank explained. "But she didn't buy those."

Bess stopped her close examination of the rings and dropped Nancy's hand at his words. "Holy Shit. You guys didn't."

Joe raised an eyebrow. "They didn't what?"

Frank grabbed onto Nancy's hand and squeezed reassuringly; the game was up. "Actually...we did."

"You did what?" Joe asked again.

"Well, everyone," Nancy started. She looked to Frank and they finished in unison.

"We got married."

**NDHB**

Thoughts?

The story is actually wrapping this time, probably two chapters at most left.

Teaser for the next chapter: "No, going after her would be the worst idea ever."


	10. Elaborate Lives

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them

Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or any of the characters associated with them. I also do not own or am affiliated with any pop culture references that I may choose to include.

Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review! I'm glad everyone liked the way I let Bess have a role in the mystery and gave her a little moment to shine on her own.

Sorry about the delay on this. Despite the fact that I had just about everything planned out, and some of the conversations actually written, I couldn't seem to get it all put together.

**Elaborate Lives**

"We were wondering when you were going to tell us." The sighed sentence that came out of Carson's mouth was not what any of the younger occupants of the room had been expecting to hear. In the few moments that Nancy and Frank had taken to imagine the fallout of their news, they had pictured disappointment, anger, and incredulity. The resignation was enough to throw them for a loop.

"It's a little surprising that you went with now. It looked like the two of you were committed to keeping it a secret." Laura said.

Fenton nodded. "The smart money was on you breaking the news when one of you made the announcement of transferring schools for your senior year."

"You mean you guys knew?!" Frank and Joe asked the question together, Frank because he had thought that he and Nancy were doing an excellent job of hiding their secret, and Joe because he had not a had an idea that the two had been married and he had been around them for a much longer period of time than any of the adults had.

Carson started to explain himself, sitting down as he did so. "I've known since I first talked to the police about Frank's situation. When they told me that your motive was his connection to Nancy, I assumed that they meant your friendship, but then they called Nancy your new wife."

"And we didn't know anything for sure until we spoke with Carson," Laura started in, "but I had been online checking on some things and I noticed some interesting charges on Frank's emergency credit card at a jewelry store. So we had our suspicions. Once Carson confirmed them, we all made the decision to act like we didn't know and let the two of you come clean."

At the lull in the conversation where no one seemed to have an appropriate continuation of the exact train of thought, Joe took up Frank's pastime, and slapped the back of Frank's head. "I can't believe you got married without me!"

Frank rubbed the back of his head, not that the blow had really hurt. "It was a bit of a spontaneous decision."

"No shit." Bess deadpanned, crossing her arms over her chest. "You were at some diner. What exactly was the thinking there? 'I think I'll have a second slice of pie. No wait—you know what would be better than a second slice of pie? I think I'll get married.'"

"Bess, you have to understand...all of you have to understand that we set out that night to straighten everything out and hash out our feelings. A lot has happened between us, and a lot happened when Eckhart was about to shoot us in that desert." Nancy started to explain. "We thought that we were going to die, and it helped us to realize a lot. Frank and I love each other."

"And a phone call to us to say, 'Hey, wanna drop by the chapel? We're getting hitched," would have taken so long that the love would have just disappeared?" Bess asked. "Nancy, the only time you get married without your friends and family there is when the person you're marrying is someone to be ashamed of or hated by your family. And Frank is neither of those things. So the only statement you really made is that you don't care enough about your friends and family to let them be at the most important day of your life."

Nancy briefly closed her eyes; Bess really knew how to get to someone when she wanted to. "That's not fair."

"Neither is leaving us out of the biggest decision of your lives." Bess shot back. "And what exactly were you thinking when you made the biggest decision of your lives after you had nearly been killed. Hell, we're lucky the two of you married each other and not some random strangers."

Fenton jumped in before the fight could get too far out of hand. "What I think that Bess is trying to say, is that this is very out of character behavior for the two of you, not only getting married, but keeping it a secret. And it's a little worrisome."

Frank nodded, taking it all in. "But, to be fair, if Joe had just up and married Bess, would this be a big deal?"

"Hey!" Joe's eyes widened in surprised. "Are you bringing me into this? Because I'm still mad at you for doing this and I'll have to remember to be mad at you for doing that after I'm done being mad at you for doing this."

"It's a blame-free example." Frank assured.

"Oh. Then continue."

"Frank, it's a little different. Joe has been a tendency to...,"

"Be a bit more unpredictable." Fenton filled in for his wife.

"So, because you're used to him being spontaneous, you'd just shrug and figure that you should have expected it and move on?" Frank asked.

The adults sighed. Frank had a point; while they would be disappointed in Joe, they probably would accept it rather quickly and move on, and it wasn't fair to hold Frank to separate standards. "It's difficult for us to think that you would have done something like this. But...I suppose we underestimated you a bit when it comes to this sort of thing. I guess if the two of you are absolutely sure about your decision, then we'll support you." Laura said. "Although it would have been nice to have a few pictures for the photo album, at the very least." She tacked on with a small smirk.

Frank looked over to Carson somewhat expectantly. "Mr. Drew?"

"Well, if I'm going to be completely honest," Carson began, "I never thought that I'd see the day where you would take such a big step without me even knowing you were considering it, Nancy. And I can't say that I'm not disappointed. I've always pictured the day that I would get to see you all dressed up and I would walk you down the aisle. To know that I've missed that is a little hard for me. That being said, I trust that you made the right decision, and the past couple of days not-withstanding, Frank is exactly the type of man I always hoped you would end up with." He smiled, and Nancy followed suit, she hurried forward and hugged him. "And Frank," he stood once more, holding out his hand, "welcome to the family."

"Well, I guess I can't be the one to throw off the ambiance of acceptance and happiness." Joe grinned. "My brother just got hitched!" He hugged Frank. "And to the most beautiful detective I know." Then it was Nancy's turn. Afterwards he turned back to face his brother. "You and I are still going to have to have a serious talk about this whole thing once we're done with celebrating this. I'm still not happy with the way that you handled this. Hey! We should have a belated bachelor party."

Nancy reached over and slapped the back of her brother-in-law's head. "Not on your life."

"Fine." Joe said, not all that disappointed. "Can we still celebrate this? We may not have been at the wedding but at least we can be at the reception."

Laura grinned. "That sounds like an excellent idea. What do you think we should do?"

"Umm, am I the only one with any power to stand their ground?" Bess interrupted before the planning session could begin. "Three minutes ago all of you were against what they did, and then Frank makes one good point and you switch sides."

Frank sighed. "Bess, there are no sides."

"Whatever." Bess rolled her eyes. "If you guys are all OK with being left out of your son's and daughter's and brother's lives then fine, but I am most certainly not OK with being left out of my best friend's life, and I'm not gonna just hang around and celebrate what will probably end up being one of the biggest mistakes of her life."

Bess stormed out of the hotel room, which remained silent for a minute. Frank walked over to Nancy and put a hand on her shoulder to offer her some comfort. Finally Nancy shook away from Frank's hand.

"I need to go...get some air."

She was barely out of the room before Frank started. "I'm going to go after her."

Joe stepped in front of his brother. "Frank, she seemed kind of upset."

"I know. That's why I'm going to go after her."

Carson shook his head. "No, going after her would be the worst idea ever."

Frank frowned. "I'm her husband. Isn't it kind of my responsibility to--,"

"You would think that, but there are actually some instances where the fact that you're her husband is only going to work against you." Laura cut off her son. "You see part of the reason that you are Nancy's husband now, is the fact that you have a Y chromosome, and one thing that the Y chromosome does, aside from classifying you as a male, is make you incapable of truly understanding some of the situations that upset us girls. No, you should stay here, and I'll go see if I can take care of this. Why don't you four see if you can plan some sort of celebration?"

**NDHB**

Laura considered herself lucky; Nancy hadn't exactly gone far. The girl detective had only made it as far as the elevator banks and was sitting on one of the uncomfortable, decorative benches, with her head in her hands by the time that Laura reached her. "Nancy, sweetie." She sat down next to her, and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Laura!" Nancy straightened and started to wipe at her face hurriedly. "What are doing here?"

"I came to see if you were OK. You left in a bit of a hurry."

Nancy rolled her eyes, mostly at herself. "I'm fine. I'm just being stupid."

"I don't see anything stupid about being upset because your friend is angry with you."

"Are you kidding? I'm an adult. Mine is the opinion that should really matter to me, and in this case Frank's. And if I'm going to get all worked up about someone not liking what I've done it should be someone who's a member of my family and none of you guys are that upset. Sure Bess is my best friend but in the end she's--,"

"In the end she's like a sister to you." Laura finished before Nancy could say anything else. Even if no one else was around, the words would probably come back to haunt her later. "And despite not wanting to you care what she thinks."

Nancy wiped at her face once more to catch a stray tear. "And why couldn't she think 'Gee, Nan, that's great. Wish you and Frank the best.'?"

"Because she's not a Disney character." Laura answered in all seriousness. "She's hurt Nancy. She looks at you the same way that you look at her, and she's probably taking the fact that you eloped as some sort of message that you don't want her around. I know that it wasn't," she added quickly, "and that you and Frank had just finally reached the point where your feelings seemed to exceed traditional bounds, so you decided to take what you saw as the logical next step."

"How is it that you can explain it perfectly, and I can barely string a couple of words together?"

Laura swung an arm around Nancy's shoulder. "Nancy, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Back when Fenton and I were in college, we almost eloped."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. It was the middle of our junior year, and we made the decision that it would be impossible for us to love anyone else, and that we needed to go to Atlantic City to get married. But in the end, we waited until we graduated to have a more traditional ceremony."

"Because you realized what a mistake it would be to not have your friends and family there." Nancy filled in for her mother-in-law.

Laura shook her head. "Not in the slightest."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Neither of us had the money to get there." Laura laughed and Nancy finally cracked a smile. "And for one reason or another, no one wanted to loan Fenton any money." She paused. "Nancy, in all seriousness, I think that you did the right thing with Frank. Bess will come around once she's calmed down a bit and the two of you can hash things out. It'll all work out and then you'll look back at this little meltdown and laugh."

"Frank never told me that you were so good at advice."

"That's because my efforts are completely wasted on the boys. They always prefer their father's solution of 'whatever the problem is, save its life and sweep it off its feet'. I have been dying for someone who might actually listen to me once in a while."

"Well, I think you might have found her."

"I'm glad to hear it." Laura stood and started to haul Nancy up with her. "Now, let's get back to that room, and make sure those men aren't picking the wrong thing to do for this celebration of yours. You just got married and your husband got cleared for murder. This is supposed to be the happiest time of your life."

**NDHB**

"OK you two." Joe looked over at Frank and Nancy who were sitting together at one end of the room, whilst he, Carson, and his parents crowded around two laptops while they attempted to secretly plan the evening celebration. For a brief moment, there had been talks of banning the couple from the room entirely, but eventually it was decided that if that were to happen, they wouldn't be able to get the two to leave their room to go out for the party. "We have all of the basic planning done, but we've decided that, since it is your wedding celebration that you get to have _some_ input. And by that, we mean you get to choose one thing."

Frank and Nancy shared a look, not entirely sure that they liked the sound of where this was going. "What is it?" Frank asked after a moment.

"Pick one of these: Bette Midler, Wayne Newton, Barry Manilow, Journey, or Elton John." Joe instructed reading off of a list.

Nancy, managing to look only mildly horrified at what she was sure was the prospect of going to one of the listed persons' concerts, muttered a quick, "Do we have to?" just loud enough for those across the room to pick up on.

"Yes." Carson answered quickly.

"Oh, I get it. Instead of a celebration, they're actually going to torture us to get back at us for not including them in the wedding." Frank said. "A clever revenge plan."

"It's not a revenge plan." Laura interjected, with a tone a bit kinder than either Joe or Carson's had been. "We made the decision that the two of you have yet to have a reception, and as such, you haven't had a first dance, and you don't have a song, so we thought that dinner and a concert would be appropriate activities, however, those are the only concerts for which tickets for tonight are still available. Spontaneity does have its limits."

"OK." Nancy turned to Frank, suddenly a bit more on board with the plan. "I think we can both agree to vote off Wayne Newton, right?"

"Right." Frank nodded. "I'd hope the same goes for Manilow."

Nancy smirked. "But he has so many classics Frank. The American Bandstand Theme, his medley of all the jingles...to name the ones that I can stand. OK, Newton and Manilow are out. Next."

"I don't think anyone besides Mom could stomach a Bette Midler concert...unless you have some bizarre attachment to the Wind Beneath My Wings or something."

"You're kidding right?"

"Just checking. So that leaves Journey and Elton John."

"And Journey does not have anything that's remotely appropriate, not to mention that we wouldn't even be seeing Steve Perry. So it looks like Elton John is the winner. That is if you're OK with it."

"Nancy, I would have been OK with Manilow if you had wanted that one."

They shared a quick kiss, and then Nancy pulled back wrinkling her nose. "Frank, do me a big favor?"

"Sure."

"Never be _quite _that cheesy again."

**NDHB**

Their claps were drowned out in the sea of screaming fans as one song ended and another began, but everyone in the group continued to do so anyways. They had been at the concert for about an hour; Frank and Nancy had yet to have their first dance, although everyone else had grabbed a chance at during one song or another. For the happy couple however, nothing had felt quite right as of yet.

"Do you even recognize this one?" Frank asked Nancy. He stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her shoulders, and he leaned down to her ear so she could have a better chance of hearing him. He didn't receive any sort of response, so he could only assume that she hadn't. "Do you even recognize this one?" He repeated. This time he managed to get a shake of denial out of Nancy. He sighed and untangled his arms in order to step in front of her and grab her full attention. "Nancy, you know, if you don't get some energy soon, people are going to think that you're not having any fun."

Nancy seemed to jolt awake and she shook her head a little. "I've been spacing all night, haven't I?"

"Kind of."

"I'm sorry." She apologized. "I just wish Bess was here to share this with us. I know it's kind of weird. I mean, I didn't even think of her when we went to get married."

"It's not weird." Frank assured. "We weren't thinking of anyone, we were in such a hurry to get it done. Now that things have calmed down a bit more..." He trailed off, noting a perfectly done up blond coming towards their section of the floor. "I don't suppose you've got anything else you're wishing for?"

Nancy frowned, confused. "Why?"

"You're one for one."

Nancy turned around and when the blond caught her eye she smiled, and her shoulders slumped in relief. "Bess! What are you doing here?"

The blond threw her arms around her best friend. "Someone," she jerked her head in Joe's direction, "left this ticket in my room with a note explaining that if I didn't get my act together I was just going to miss more important things and then we'd just be in an endless fight instead of one that we could fix. And by the time I got back to my room I wanted to apologize anyways. I was being stupid and selfish. I mean, seriously. Here you are in love, and I was thinking of me and the little blow to my ego."

"Well, you should know that I didn't leave you out on purpose." Nancy started. "Frank and I just kind of got caught up in the moment."

"I know." Bess nodded. "It's all right. Besides, I know that eventually the two of you are going to do some sort of big fancy ceremony that you've envisioned since you were five and that I'll get to put the whole thing together while you go out to save the world. Which is much more my cup of tea then sitting in a cheesy themed chapel anyways. Now...have you guys had your dance yet?"

"No." Nancy answered. "Nothing's been right."

The current song ended and cheers erupted once more. As the strains of the next song started, Bess' eyes lit up in recognition. "This is it. Start dancing." She grabbed onto both Frank and Nancy and started to pull them together.

"What?" Frank sputtered a little, instinctively wrapping his arms around Nancy's waist while her hands went to his neck. "I don't even know this song."

"It's a song that he wrote for a musical. It's perfect. Just dance and listen. It's perfect. I promise."

And rather than argue with Bess on a mission, which they knew to be dangerous, though not quite how dangerous, the newlyweds started to dance their first dance as Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hardy.

**NDHB**

Frank tiptoed quietly back into his hotel room. He didn't want to wake Nancy. They had spent a good portion of the evening after the concert together, but eventually they had decided that it was time to get some sleep; she had fallen asleep first, and he had made the decision to go and talk to Joe and get that sorted out. Now that that had been done, he was ready to go back to bed. The one problem he found with that scenario was the fact that Nancy was nowhere to be found. The bed was empty.

Deciding that his first urge to panic wouldn't be very practical, Frank did the next best thing and pulled out his cell phone, dialing Bess. After all, he had gone out again, maybe Nancy had done the same thing.

"Do you have any idea what an ungodly hour this is Hardy? You had better be calling with the promise of gorgeous designer shoes or something equally enticing."

Frank winced at the harsh tone. "Actually, I just got back to our room and I can't find Nancy. She was asleep when I left and I was wondering if she came to talk to you or something."

"Is the comforter from the bed missing too?"

Frank squinted in the dark; he had never bothered with the light switch. "I think so."

"Try the bathtub."

"The bathtub?"

"Don't question, just do. And the next time that you call me at this time, something had either be really wrong, or you want to tell me that you have a pair of Jimmy Choo's in my size."

Bess hung up the phone, and Frank was forced to resort to her instructions. He was a bit surprised to find that she was right, and sure enough, Nancy was sitting in the bathtub with the comforter, a pillow, and her laptop, looking a bit like she had fallen asleep with her eyes open. "Umm, Nancy?" He knocked on the doorframe twice to alert her to his presence.

She jolted. "Frank! What are you doing here?" She shook her head. "I mean, where did you go?"

"I went to go make sure things with Joe were OK." Frank entered the bathroom and knelt down next to the tub. "I think a more logical question might be what are _you_ doing here?"

Nancy sighed, and looked down. "You're going to think it's stupid."

"Well, you are sitting practically catatonic in a bathroom."

"I've got insomnia."

"You were asleep when I left."

"See that's the thing. I think it's like, selective insomnia."

"So you only can't sleep during certain situations." Frank nodded, sort of seeing where she was going with this. "And what are those situations."

"See, this is where you're going to laugh. I think that I can't sleep when you're not there."

"Seriously?" Frank raised an eyebrow. "That certainly makes me feel important. Frank Hardy, the giver of sleep...that's not quite the right title. We'll have to work on it."

Nancy playfully swung at him with one hand. "That wasn't meant to stroke your ego. The past two nights that I spent with Bess I fell asleep but then my mind decided it would be a good time to revisit the desert and I woke up and couldn't back to sleep so I went in here so I wouldn't wake her up. Then when we went to bed tonight I was fine, but sometime after you left I had another nightmare and here I am."

"You do realize that since I wasn't here you didn't have to worry about waking me, right?"

"Habit. But that's hardly the point."

"You're right." Frank nodded. "If you need me around to get a good night's rest we do have a bit of a problem."

"We?"

"We're married. Your problems are my problems."

"What did I tell you about being cheesy?"

"You know I'm trying to make a point here."

"Sorry, but I'm tried. I get crabby. Continue."

"Well, unless this problem goes away we're going to need to do something. And my parents brought up the interesting point earlier about us switching schools. We didn't really think this whole marriage thing through very well. We didn't plan any of the moving in together stuff."

"Maybe you didn't." Nancy smiled. "But insomnia does have its perks. I've spent the past couple of nights filling out online applications arranging to transfer from Cornell. I probably won't be fully registered until the second semester, but I'm ahead on my credits so taking some time off won't push back my schedule or anything."

"Are you sure? Nancy we could have talked about this? There's no reason that you have to be the one to transfer, and--,"

"Are you kidding? I can't wait to get out of there." She yawned. "And you know what? Tomorrow, after a long night's sleep we can sit down and have a talk about all the other important life decisions we ignored."

"That sounds like a pretty good plan." Frank removed her laptop, put it on the counter, and then turned back to Nancy to scoop her up in his arms.

"Frank, what are you doing?"

"I just realized that I never carried you over the threshold, and figure that now seemed like a good time to do it."

"But we're not entering any rooms."

Frank stepped through the doorframe between the bathroom to the rest of the room. "That was close enough, don't you think?"

**NDHB**

The end! Thoughts?

Just as a little point of explanation, I thought that you might be interested to know that Frank and Nancy's song is Elaborate Lives, also the title of this chapter. It's a very beautiful song that Elton John wrote for the musical Aida, and I've always thought that the lyrics just embody Frank and Nancy's relationship really well.

Thanks to everyone who read and to those who reviewed. It's been fun!


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